Risky Business
by Loved-Invention
Summary: Everyone thought that we would be the perfect couple…two best friends who fell in love. So, Chad and I made a plan to set them straight. We'd fool them, and prove that we'd be a horrible couple. The only one I was fooling was myself. Channy.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **All recognizable _Sonny With a Chance_ characters are property of Disney. Also, any other recognizable character/thing does NOT belong to me. My original characters are Jamington, Aubree, Jason, Shae, Natti, Jill, Amy, Laketon, etc.

**A/N: **Long time no write! What's up SWAC-world?

I've been writing this story since February…and I'm extremely, utterly nervous over it! It is an AU Chadson, but I hope that you like it!

* * *

**Risky Business**

_"I should've stolen every moment_

_Now there's a page with not enough on it_

_Where we belong_

_I guess I'll never understand it_

_Why do we take it all for granted until it's gone?"_

-_**Prologue**_-

* * *

_February 13, 2015_

It's funny, I guess.

I mean, it used to feel like I could tell him anything. I felt as if I could do anything with him. In truth, he was the only person with whom I could truly be myself.

With him, I was free.

From the second that I walked onto the set of _So Random_, we were best friends.

Sure, he picked on me relentlessly at first, but I was the only girl who ever replied back with witty comments. Both of us had a sarcastic sense of humor, so we meshed well.

We grew to love each other. Not in "that" way, but we did share an amazing respect for one another.

Throughout the years, our relationship grew deeper, and we could hardly go a day without seeing each other.

But then, when Chad turned twenty-one, there was an incident. It messed me up, and it threw me for a loop.

He didn't remember, so I, of course, acted like nothing happened.

A year after that, I turned twenty-one, and became the star of my own movie. It made thirty million dollars within the first week, and was, in the truest form, a hit.

But with that hit, came more fame. With it, came thousands of paparazzi following me every day of my life.

My life that Chad was very much in.

So with that hit, came millions of rumors.

I hated going on the internet, because, if I stumbled onto as much as _Yahoo_!, there would be another rumor about 'Chad Dylan Cooper and Sonny Munroe'.

Sure, I read some of the comments. A quarter of the fan base hated 'Chadson' (yes, we even had our own celebrity couple name). But more than that, the rest loved us being together. And I just didn't get it.

After another year, I was growing tired of even my closest friends and family members telling me that Chad and I should get together. Every day, it seemed, I heard how we would be such an amazingly cute couple.

In truth, I wanted to vomit at all of their comments.

Instead, I would always blush, and tell them that 'Chadson' would never, ever happen.

Chad, on the other hand, had an idea in mind. And through his idea, we formed a very deceitful plan.

Our little plan threw me, yet again, for a loop. In fact, our plan made me question everything about my relationship with Chad.

It also, unfortunately, brought the incident that had happened a few years prior, back, bright and fresh into my mind.

Maybe I shouldn't have gone ahead with the plan. Perhaps I never should've agreed to some of the things that we ended up doing.

But when the end – or, what I thought was the end- came, I learned in the hardest possible way that your past truly does come back to haunt you.

So what do Ross and Rachael, Jim and Pam, and Michael and Julianne have in common?

Friends with benefits…which possibly led to, or didn't lead to something more.

But I needed to remind myself that this wasn't a movie. I needed to open my eyes and see that there wouldn't be a happy ending with a dress like Cinderella's.

This wasn't fiction, this was real life.

And, in real life, there is pain. Lots and lots of pain.

So that's why I find myself at the airport on the day before Valentine's Day of my twenty-third year, playing absentmindedly with my iPod.

There was no rescue.

There was no fight.

There were just lots, and lots of tears.

And I know that I don't deserve him. I know that he deserves so much more than what I can offer him. I also know that my friendship with him probably held him down for longer than it should've.

But it's over.

I knew that he'd never try to look for me again. But somewhere deep down, I hoped that he would.

* * *

**End Notes: **Do not worry, loves. This is just the beginning, and I know that it's the prologue, but the story doesn't end until March, at least.

I'll have the next chapter up asap, but I would love to know your thoughts!


	2. Smile

**Risky Business**

_"Don't know how I lived without you_

_'Cause every time that I get around you_

_I see the best of me inside your eyes_

_You make me smile"_

-_**1**_-

* * *

_August 23, 2014_

"You would think that it would look dorky on me," I watched as my best friend stood in front of the mirror, tilting his head from side to side, "but I make the whole crown-look look totally amazing. Don't you think?"

Chad turned to look at me, giving me a sly wink. I, in turn, rolled my eyes and smirked. Sure, my BFF is slightly egotistical, but he's also pretty damn adorable, if may say so myself; even if he _is_ wearing a paper-crown made by his niece, which looks like a slightly-duller version of the one that the Burger King dude wears.

Then again, Chad would do anything for his niece, which is one of the many things that I love about him.

"Chad, you are twenty-four, you know." I sighed, and this time, he rolled his eyes.

"We don't even know what time I was born, Sonny. My mom was drunk with pain meds, and my dad was just plain drunk. So, technically, I could still be twenty-three," I watched with bated breath as he took a step towards me, and leaned in closer, "just like you will be in the matter of two weeks."

I gulped, just thinking about my upcoming birthday.

Twenty-three just seemed like a huge jump from twenty-two. When you're twenty-two, you're still at that partying age. When your next birthday comes, you have to mature.

And today, Chad was now as old as Methuselah.

Happy birthday to him.

"Whatever you say, Chad." For a split second, I tore the crown off of his head so I could ruffle his hair. "But as of midnight tonight, you have to act like a mature adult. That means no slang talk, no rapping in the shower, no having any fun. Do you understand?" I looked at him pointedly, whilst he started humming "I'm On A Boat." Lovely, Chad. Just lovely.

"I thought you had to do those things after you turn thirty. Or after you have a kid. Not when you turn twenty-four."

He had a point, and I was really just joking with him before (which he picked up on). "Still, Chad," I whined, balling my hands into fists, "Doesn't twenty-four seem just, so old?"

I knew, deep down, that I was exaggerating this whole age-oldness deal, but I somehow needed to verbalize my unreasonable feelings.

"You'll be here in a year, Munroe." His hands were on his hips, and some strands of his hair were sticking up out of the crown. He looked like a twenty-four-year-old minus twenty years. I hid my smile.

"A year and two weeks." I corrected.

"But still," He took a step closer to me, resting his hands on my shoulders, "Where do you want to be a year from now?" He held up his hands to stop me from answering. "Let's rephrase that, where did you think that you'd be a year from now, ten years ago?"

My jaw somehow unhinged and my eyes kind of bugged out as I started gawking at him.

When I was twelve/thirteen, I really thought of anyone twenty and older as being a cool-kind of-old.

Therefore, I planned on being married, and having at least two kids, and having an amazing career.

I had one of those things now.

As for the other two, I would never, ever tell Chad about them.

"Chad-" My mouth went dry when I even thought about my explanation, but thankfully, we were interrupted.

"Chad!" The booming, yet sweet voice of Jamington Cooper Smith drifted through the room as she walked into it. "Sonny!" She smiled at me, and came over and hugged me first. In turn, Chad pouted, and held his arms open for his older sister. She obliged, wrapping her arms around him, and I laughed.

They acted like they were four and seven, instead of appropriate adults, one of whom had a child and was expecting another one.

"If it isn't my favorite brother and future sister-in-law." She beamed at us, rubbing her slightly-rounded belly, as I blushed and Chad frowned.

I knew that Jamington was joking, but still, I was sick of _that_ type of joking.

After my twenty-first birthday, I starred in a movie. This caused the paparazzi to follow me everywhere. Considering the fact that Chad's my best friend, he comes with me a lot of places.

So, the rumors started spreading, and jokes between our friends and family members started developing.

And they've never stopped.

Ever.

"Jamie," Chad looked at his sister tiredly, pointedly, as he continued speaking, "where's my baby?"

Just like that, a little critter with red curls ran into the room, flinging herself at Chad. "Uncle Chad!" I watched as Chad picked up his three-year-old niece, hugging her to him.

"Aubree!" Chad planted a kiss on top of her head, and then set her down.

There's always something about a guy loving a little kid, and that kid loving back with all of the adoration in the world.

I really don't think that guys care about how girls are with children, but girls certainly do.

With that thought, Aubree ran over and hugged my legs, while I bent down and hugged her. I caught a glimpse of Chad looking at me, smiling; but when he caught my stare, he quickly looked way.

"You ready to get this party on the road?" Jamie was fiddling with the keys, ready to go.

Chad tugged his crown on tighter, and marched out of his house.

I grinned at Jamie, picked her daughter up in my arms, and headed out after Chad.

I loved this family way too much for my own good, and I think that they feel the same way. And I'd never want anything to change.

Ooo000oo0

"So when are you and CDC going to come out and announced that you're engaged?" I didn't know whether to punch Grady, my former co-star from _So Random_, or grin and bear it. Considering my clean criminal record, I opted for the latter choice.

"Grady," I drew in a deep breath, "Chad and I aren't even dating, and you know it."

The new father of two rolled his eyes. "I know, Sonny," he patted me on my shoulder, "But remember the days of _So Random_? I swear, the two of you could not go a day without flirting with one another. And whenever he'd have a girl, you'd get jealous. Whenever you'd have a guy, he'd get jealous." Grady licked his lips, and watched as Portlyn, his wife, chatted with Tawni (my other old co-star). "What I mean is, back in the days of our old shows, all of us could cut the sexy tension between you and Chad with a knife."

I blinked, let my mouth fall open, and then blinked again. "S-sexy tension?"

I probably should've been more concerned about the fact that Grady said I had it with Chad, but whatever.

"I have little ones, now." Grady winked obnoxiously at me. "I suppose it's better to use the term 'sexy' – and make them think of see-through bras and underwear, over 'sexual' – and make them think of seduction and beds."

"Grady," I swallowed back the laughter that was bubbling up, "Lily and Dolly are just six months old. The only thing that they care about is food and a clean diaper." _Not even that_. But I held my tongue and looked around the room.

Chad's party was set in this new, clean club in town._ Lapele_, or something like that.

It had disco lights, but clean, pop, kid-friendly music. There was alcohol, but not a whole lot. Besides that, there was yummy mozzarella sticks and onion rings on every table, so that was a bonus.

Besides the food, there were balloons everywhere. Chad's birthday cake was over in one corner, surrounded by presents, and my mouth watered just looking at it.

It was chocolate, but it had blue paisleys on it, with a creamy white-chocolate overlay. I really, really couldn't wait to take a huge bite out of it.

I tried to divert my thoughts on other things besides the cake and Grady, so I continued glancing around the room.

Besides Tawni and Portlyn, I quickly spotted Nico, the Jonas Brothers and their wives, Miley Cyrus and Liam whatshisname, and David Henrie who was talking to Chad.

My desire was to hide out with Aubree and Jamie, but they were occupied with talking to Justin Bieber. Never had I ever imagined that Aubree's green eyes could be as big as they were now.

I suppose that good old Justin Bieber can amuse some people. Heh.

"Sonny," I spun around to face Grady, but he was already by his wife's side. Instead of him, Chad and David were quickly approaching me, and David was grinning.

"Sonny Munroe!" He engulfed me in a hug, and I suddenly found it more difficult to breathe (David's cologne has always been on the really,_ really_ strong side).

"David," I huffed back, pulling away to shoot a glare at Chad. He just shrugged at me. "How's it going?"

"Great." As if he couldn't have aggravated me more, he gave me a playful punch on the arm. I wanted to punch him too, but not as playfully…more over, _painfully_.

"So, I heard that you and Chad are preggers. Congrats." I really, really wanted to punch him. Chad shot a glare at David, turned to me, and shook his head.

It was aggravating. It was aggravating as hell.

"David, we'd have to be married to be pregnant, and that's not happening anytime soon." I was happy that Chad was defending us and all, but my happiness was replaced with my mouth falling open in dismay. _Anytime soon._

Chad's mouth hung open too, as he realized his mistake.

This caused David the Douche to clap his hands in utter joy (kill me now), and smush Chad and I together in a group hug.

"So, you're saying that a Chadson wedding will happen someday!" Kill. Me. Now. I wanted to die.

Especially since that statement did not come from David. The voice belonged to Miley Cyrus, and behind her was her boy-toy.

"Uh, no." Chad looked frantically from me, to Miley, and then to David.

Boy, were we in a pickle now.

"Oh, come on," Liam, who I didn't know so well, spoke up, "I think that the two of you would be cute together."

"N-no." Chad shook his head, and I just stared dumbly at all of the people around us. "We're just best friends."

Chad and I should've known this crowd. With this crowd, you can get away with _nothing_.

Not. _One_. Word.

"You know the 'idea' about best friends, don't you, Chad?" Miley took a step closer to my poor birthday boy, probably scaring the hell out of him.

"N-no." He was stuttering. She was definitely scaring him. And, as much as I wanted to defend him, I held my tongue. Partially because I was scared to get pounced on as well.

"Well, they say that two best friends of the opposite sex can't be best friends." Miley stopped talking, and I narrowed my eyes at her.

Did she know that she made absolutely no sense at all?

Oh well.

I still like her better than Selena Gobiotch and Taylor Obsessive Swift.

"Without falling in love."

Oh, so she did have a thing to add on to her previous statement. One that I should've been expecting.

My eyes went from her gaudy necklace, to Chad's eyes. We held our stare for a few moments, and then broke it off.

From the look in his eyes, I got a few things.

One- he was really wishing for me to slap Miley.

Two- he was ready to get the hell out of his birthday party.

Three- he was just as sick of our friends making jokes about us being a couple as I was.

And, I think that I might've picked up on a forth thought of his.

He was slowly, but surely, going to come up with a plan that would stump them all.

And, in truth, I couldn't wait to know what it was.

* * *

**Lyrics**: Bose, Jeremy; Daly, Blair; Harding, J; Shafer, Matthew –_ Smile _by Uncle Kracker

**A/N:** So how cute is Chad with Aubree? Wouldn't you pay for the Chad on TV to have a niece? Anyway, thank you SO much for all of the reviews and alerts so far! It's always nerve-racking yet exciting to start a new story, so I hope that you guys like it!


	3. Casual

**Risky Business**

_"We know it's casual  
It's cool we're just friends...  
__I don't wanna lead you on"_**_  
_**

-_**2**_-

* * *

_August 28, 2014_

If you're a normal person, with weird friends, you have at least one pal who calls at weird hours in the day (or night).

The weird hours (in the day), represent the hours in which you're working. The weird hours (during the night), represent every single hour during the night.

With Chad, he thinks it's cool for me to have at least ten text messages for when I wake up in the morning. The kid hardly sleeps, and seems to send them every hour, on the hour.

Sometimes, they're little sarcastic remarks. Sometimes they're deep remarks about what he wants to do with his future (i.e. kill Zac Efron and buy a hockey rink).

I never reply to his text messages, and never say anything to him about them, but somehow, he knows that I get them. That's why he keeps on sending them, like a persistent pain in my butt.

This morning, however, he would literally know if I had received them.

_- Text: From CDC (1:01 am) -_

I h8 our friends.

_- Text: From CDC (2:02 am) -_

I think that the guy from Owl City is kind of hot.. Perhaps I should go gay or u should nab him?

_- Text: From CDC (3:03 am) -_

I h8 Jamie, Miley, David, and Miley's boi (sk8ter). We should kill 'em all.

_- Text: From CDC (4:04 am) -_

Every night in my dreams, I see u, I feel u. Celine Dion is nice.

_- Text: From CDC (5:05 am) -_

Srsly, I h8 our friends. We need to plan revenge on all of 'em.

_- Text: From CDC (6:06 am) -_

I'm making a plan for us to surprise our friends. Sound good?

- _Text: From CDC (7:07 am)_ -

Watching the Firefly video. R they poisonous? We should kill our friends with fireflies.

- _Text: From CDC (8:08 am)_ -

I have a plan!

- _Text: From CDC (9:09 am)_ -

Meet me at Starbucks at 11 sharp. No tenth text for you.

One of the things that I've always admired about Chad and his texts is that he combines a certain amount of perfect vocabulary sprinkled in with horrendous abbreviations.

He's such a forty-year-old mother.

However, he is smart. He seems to hate our acquaintances as much as I do (for keeping up with the whole joking/rumor mill). And, he has a plan.

Chad's never been that creative with plans, or anything of the sort; so when I finally dragged myself out of bed, I assumed that it really did have to do with the dude from Owl City (who, quite honestly, I wouldn't mind dating), and a jar full of fireflies. In said case, I'd have to talk Chad out of it and buy him a caramel frap to wipe the pout off of his face.

Somehow, I finally managed to pull myself out of bed, and put on a decent outfit that would please the paparazzi.

Sometimes I feel like going all Lady Gaga on them to tick them off, but whenever I go through with that, I get a phone call from my mom. And in case you didn't know, phone calls from my mom are deathly, horribly long. Especially when you wear a red thong (that I had stole from said mother), over a pair of blue jeans. Moving on.

I settled on a pair of jeans and a red tank top with a little jean jacket over it. I then trudged through my dimly lit apartment, stumbling over my furry rug along the way, and made my way out the door.

When I arrived at Starbucks, it was exactly 11:07.

Chad was sitting at our usual table, two white chocolate mochas on it, leaning back in his chair, frowning.

Sue me for being late. Whether he knows it or not, it takes a lot of work to be a woman. And when you reach "that time" of the month, getting ready takes a little longer. Such as, you have to find a more comfortable bra, and ugly panties, and an un-nauseating perfume. (You get the gist.)

"I'm not going to say it." I didn't look him in the eye. I probably would've dumped my whole coffee all over him.

"Good riddance."

"You're moody." No shit, Sherlock.

"I'm a girl. I have every right to be." I shifted, uncomfortable on the wooden chair. I mean, this is Starbucks after all. Why couldn't we ever sit in the overstuffed armchairs for once. You know, the ones that look like the blown-up Thinking Chairs from _Blues' Clues_.

But no, best friend had to go to the uncomfy table (le sigh).

"Oh, is it your-" Before blue-eyes could say another word, I held up my hands and waved them in front of his face.

"If you say what you're about to say, Chad Dylan Cooper, I swear on your baby-makers that I will wedge them into a tree and-"

"I get it, Sonny." This time, he held up his hand, wanting me to stop. Just to please him, I took an overly-long, scalding sip of my mocha, praying that it would calm me down. All of a sudden, I was desiring an iced marble macchiato instead of what I had.

"So, you dragged me here." I plopped my drink down, and looked at my friend pointedly, and then I shifted on the seat again.

Seriously, who makes seats out of wood? It should be illegal. When I was in public school once upon a lifetime ago, I swear I came home from school every day with splinters in my butt. Illegal, I say.

"Right." Chad nodded.

That was all.

"You said that you have a plan to kill our friends?" I prodded, and Chad looked down at the table sheepishly.

"I hate them sometimes." He bit his lip, and fingered the cup in front of him. I nodded in agreement.

"So, your plan?"

"I just don't get why they think that we're perfect for each other." Chad, obviously, was either going to make a soul-stopping speech about annoying friends, or he was going to grumble about them and annoy me. "I mean, sure, our personalities are the yin and yang of each other. Your bubbly, I'm sarcastic." _(Ahem_, not at this moment.) "And our looks are like movie-couple looks. You know, I'm the blond, amazingly beautiful guy with blue eyes, and you're the ravishing brunette with brown orbs."

_Ravishing_? If I wasn't too busy waiting for Chad to make his point, I would've snorted.

"So, we need a plan." Chad stopped talking, and then he yawned.

Yep, today was his day to annoy me.

"You mean," I leaned across the table, "you don't have a plan, do you?"

Chad shook his head, confirming my original beliefs. Before I could yell at him, one of the waitresses, who must've been in her forties stopped right in front of our table.

"Can I get you two-"

Apparently, today was the day where you weren't allowed to finish a complete sentence.

"My," She looked adoringly between the two of us, "wouldn't you two make a beautiful couple."

And just like that, a plan popped into my mind.

"Ma'am," I ran my fingers through my hair, and then rested my head on my fist, looking up at the lady. Chad, in the meantime, was looking at me like I was going nuts. "Why do you think that we would make a lovely couple?"

"Well," The lady grinned, and Chad kicked me from underneath the table. I kicked him back.

Mature adults, my ass.

"I think that the two of you just compliment each other. When you frown, he frowns. When you smile, he smiles. Besides, you two look at each other so tenderly. And your looks are both beautiful. Say, if you had a child, it would be stunning. With your dimples and his behind…Oh, with your chest and his hair, your daughter would be a wonder." She gasped, clapped her hands together, and moseyed away.

Seeing as that she probably wouldn't be back for another ten minutes (she's probably off fantasizing about the 'lovely' couple whom she just met), I turned to Chad, who was gaping at me.

"S-Sonny?"He looked scared."What was that?"

"Chad," I leaned across the table, grinning all over myself. If he went along with it, this plan would probably work. "How would you feel about going out with me?"

A few locks of his blond hair fell into his eyes, and he quickly brushed them away. Then, he continued to stare at me incredulously.

"But we're just friends. I thought that you hated our friends because they wanted us to be more than friends. And I thought that you just wanted to be just friends, instead of more than friends? I thought that we were best friends. But maybe, do you want to make different friends, because I-"

"Chad, say 'friends' one more time and I'm going to kick you. And no, I do not want to go all Jonas Brothers on you and be more than 'just friends', but a plan popped into my mind."

"So that's why you want to date me?"

His voice was unusually shaky, and I immediately felt bad.

The poor boy needed details.

"No, I don't want to date you, _date you_ Chad. I want to fake date you."

Chad looked from his coffee, to me, then back to his coffee.

So, he was going to be that way.

"Everyone wants us to get together. All of our friends, all of our family members. But they don't actually expect us to get together. What I'm saying is, we should make a plan and pretend that we're dating – that we're madly in love with each other, and fool them all. Instead of them constantly joking about us, we could be using them as our entertainment. Please tell me that you get what I'm saying." I finally managed to clamp my mouth shut and let out a sigh.

At first, there was a blank look on Chad's face. Then, he broke out into a huge grin, leaned across the table, and enveloped me in a huge hug.

"I think that, Sonny Munroe, that's the smartest thing I've heard since the doctor announced that my niece was born."

For Chad, that was saying a lot.

"So, you're not weirded out by the plan?" I sat back, taking his expression in. He seemed calm.

"We won't have to kiss or anything like that, will we?" I rolled my eyes.

PDAs have always grossed me out, and everyone around me knows that.

"No."

"Good."

"So-"

"So, I think that we need to go back to my place, and hash this plan out."

* * *

_**Lyrics:**_ Jonas, N; Jonas, K P; Jonas, J – _Just Friends_ by Jonas Brothers

**A/N: **And there you have it! First of all, I would like to apologize for this story's plot forming so slowly. I know that it's not exactly "Cure for the Common Man" – so thank you for putting up with me. And, speaking of "Cure" – if any of you have read it, I have a one-shot coming up soon that's based off of it. I'm really excited about it!

Last but not least, to everyone who reads this, to everyone who has alerted and reviewed, from the bottom of my heart- thank you! I love to hear your thoughts. The next chapter will be up soon.


	4. Business

**Risky Business**

_"But it is poor me, why me, o me_  
_Boring the same old worn out blah blah story_  
_There is no good explanation for it at all"_  
**  
**

-_**3**_-

* * *

_September 6, 2014_

_Twenty-three_.

From the second that my eyes opened, I felt slightly grumpy, because I knew that I was older.

My ankles ached, as did my knees. Not only that, but my stomach was growling, my elbow was throbbing, and my eyes were encrusted with sleep.

I was pretty positive that, if I made my way to the bathroom, I would see a really thick, old-lady mustache and a zit between my eyes.

Before I dared crawl out of bed, though, I flopped my hand in the direction of my nightstand, grabbing my cell phone.

I didn't bother reading his first eight texts, I just skipped to the last two, knowing that he would know what I needed him to say.

He's my best friend, he's supposed to know what I need. It's his duty in life, and I appreciate him for it.

Does that make sense?

Probably not.

Like I care what you think anyway.

_- Text: From CDC (9:09 am) -_

Do not fret. Ur not old. Ur 23, not 93. Birthday girl!

_- Text: From CDC (10:10 am) -_

Happy birthday youngin! Let's go thugin'…and pimp on rugin's? I can't rap. And does pimp mean… 'get it on'? Ew.

His texts managed to yank a smile out of me, but then, after I put my phone back on the charger, I frowned. Today was _the day_.

'Chadson' was coming out. We were going public, at my birthday party. We'd walk in, hand in hand.

Over the process of our planning period (Chad and I had Starbucks every morning, and dinner three times a week), we decided that it would be best to 'come out' at my birthday party. After all, there would be lots of celebrities there, and with them comes lots of press.

The best part, however, is that both of our families are going to be there. We'll get to see their jaws hit the floor and everything; and then Chad and I will feed them our long, rehearsed story on how we fell in love.

(How did we fall in love, you ask? Whilst Chad was walking me home from Starbucks one bright day, a little boy came up to me, with a water gun, demanding my coffee. Chad, the brave soul that he is, offered the kid his coffee, so I could keep mine. Chad saving my coffee equals him saving my life. After the boy dashed away, Chad and I looked into each other's eyes and knew…)

As dumb as it seems, everyone will believe it.

I mean, when I was little, I used to have this dream that I fell into a lake, and my cousin jumped in and saved me. After that, I fell in love with him (because he saved my life). And, because it was incest and all…

Oh, what the hell. It's just a dream.

Any-who, as giddy and as stoked as I had been about the plan, and how it would go down, all I felt on the morning of my birthday was nervousness, and this sick, twisty feeling in my stomach.

It wasn't twenty-three-year-old blues, either. It was about the plan.

Not the fact that I would have to go on a Victoria's Secret spree to make myself feel better.

Deep down, I knew that something was going to go wrong. The only thing was, I didn't know what was going to go wrong, so I had absolutely no way of not letting whatever it was happen.

By the time that five o'clock rolled around, and I walked into my birthday party, I was completely and utterly nauseous. Having already downed three antic-acids, I thought that I should be ready to go. I was wrong, but knew that I had to go to the party anyway, and go through with Plan Chadson.

My birthday party was being held at 'The Basement'. After _So Random_ ended, Tawni, Nico, and Grady decided to chip in and buy our old prop house/lot. It's a long story, but The Basement is inspired by some stupid incident that we had…but they turned a little part of the lot into it.

And what a good job they did with it, too. There were disco balls everywhere, a hardwood paneled floor, and all of the walls had some type of water fountain attached to it, with cool, colored lights accenting the flowing water.

Chad had dreams of one day buying The Basement, and making all of the fountains beer fountains, and putting a swimming pool (filled with beer), in the middle of the club. But that's Chad for you. The more beer for him, the more good looking ladies (sans clothing) there'll be, the happier he'll be.

Just…yeah.

Besides the normal setting, there were balloons everywhere and a gigantic…flan cake on one of the tables.

I did a double take at the gigantic wobbly flan contraption and looked at Chad, who was standing beside me, grinning mischievously.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Monica made one for Rachel on _Friends_, Sonny. It's only right that you have one too!" I rolled my eyes, knowing that I should have never introduced Chad to _Friends_, much less have given him the DVDs. I should have known that I would've had to pay for it, in some way. And when I gave him _The Office_ DVDs? "That's what she said" came out of his mouth every other second.

Oh. And he used to call me his "Pammywhack."

Yeah. Anyway.

Chad, clad in his green, button-down shirt, grabbed my hand and continued to grin. I looked from our (casually) intertwined hands to my own American Rag, blue and pink flower printed dress.

He looked better than me, and it wasn't fair. What also wasn't fair was that, because of me and my brilliant ideas, I had to "come out" with him tonight.

"Are you getting nervous, Sonbeam?" Chad was all smiles as I shot him a glare. Before I could get a word out though, Jamington decided that now would be a great time to come up and give me a hug.

"Happy birthday, Sonny." She blew a strand of her freshly-highlighted hair and let me go with a smile. She then took a step back, and a look of confusion spread across her face as she looked down. I, in turn, looked down, wondering what was concerning her, and then I spotted it.

Chad was still hanging onto my hand.

I looked from Chad's hand, encircling mine, to his sister, who had now narrowed her eyes. Panicking, and deciding that Chad and I could not pull Plan Chadson off, I tried to yank my hand away from his. Chad just squeezed tighter.

"Why are you-" Jamie drew in a deep breath, rubbed at her eyes, and then took in our holding-hands again. Then, this huge, gigantic grin covered her face, as she let out a squeal, and wrapped Chad and I into a huge hug.

I felt like I was being strangled. Slowly, but surely strangled.

"This is fantastic!" She pulled away, managing to pat Chad and I on our heads. "Are you two actually, really together?"

I blinked. Then, I gulped. Then I blinked again, and let my mouth fall open.

Shit.

She knew.

She saw right through our plan.

She knew that Chad and I had made up some stupid charade, and that it was all fake.

Jamie was smart; she's a mom. Of course she'd figure it out.

I didn't know whether to clap my hands for joy, and then pull her into a gigantic hug of my own, or run off and cry.

"Yes, we really are together." Chad, in all of his cocky/dumbness, decided to speak up before I could react. He also managed to wrap both of his arms around my waist, while he grinned at his sister brightly.

I scowled, knowing that Jamie now knew that we were faking it. Why couldn't Chad see that?

Clearly, his older sister was going to let it rip any second.

"Well, Chad," Jamie just grinned, letting her eyes connect with my own, "and Sonny," she continued, "this is the best news that I could've ever hoped for. I'm so glad that you're finally together."

She took a step back, folded her hands together, and beamed at us. That's when I started kicking myself.

She thought…she _really_ thought that we're together.

It was then that another wave of nausea overtook with me, along with a rush of complete and utter guilt.

Sure, we were going to have our time and play with everyone. The public would know, but so would our closest friends and family members. We were deceiving them, and happily doing so.

They'd get so hooked on Chad and me being together.

But then we'd prove to them that Chad and I could never exist together.

We'd crush them.

And here we were, straight out lying to Chad's sister, who, of course, would tell the news to her precious little daughter.

I fought back the sob in my throat as I thought about Aubree. We would be lying to Aubree.

Sweet, exuberant, happy Aubree.

Chad tapped me on my shoulder, bringing me back to reality, and I realized that Jamie wasn't standing in front of us anymore. We were in a crowd of people, but we were alone, together.

I wondered if he had thought about hurting Jamie, and Aubree.

But then again, if he had, he probably wouldn't be standing next to me with an over-eager smile on his face.

For the rest of my birthday party, I found myself plastering on my fake-smile, with Chad by my side, schmoozing everyone. After about an hour and a half, everyone knew that Chadson was on. Everyone seemed to be giddy (and drunk) with excitement.

_We had finally happened_.

Hence my fake grin.

My one, lone, amusement of the evening was when a very hammered Zac Efron hit on me.

It went along the lines of him walking up behind me, and grabbing my butt. Chad, in turn, snapped at him and told him I was taken. (Side note: Zac and Chad have never gotten along. It's Chad's fault…because he hates/is-secretly-jealous of Zac's acting ability.) After being told that I was unavailable, Zac got this weirded-out look on his face and asked who my boyfriend was. Chad told him that it was him. Zac, in turn, stood back, and began clapping his hands and laughing hysterically.

That was when I had to hold Chad back from punching him.

All in all, Zac's reaction was my main source of entertainment for the evening.

After three hours, and a cocky-drunk Chad later, I found myself in the bathroom, sitting down on the little lounge Tawni had put in there.

I needed to get out. I needed to get away from the lies.

I was tired of feeling sick and dirty and getting "congrats" every-other second. I just wanted away from it all…And I finally managed to get away from it. In the restroom.

I thought that I was alone, until I came face-to-face with Shae Jonas, arms crossed, standing in front of me tapping her foot.

Shae Jonas is a beautiful woman. Tall, but not too tall. Long, wavy brown hair with a smattering of freckles across her dimpled-cheeks. She also has piercing green eyes and a normally charming personality (which is probably how she wooed Nick Jonas into marrying her). Seriously. The second that he laid his brown orbs on her, Miley was long forgotten.

Any-who… However, as she finally sat down next to me, I was just scared.

"Hey Shae," I chirped nervously, then laughed nervously, hoping for a light conversation with said Jonas' wife.

Instead of smiling, she pursued her lips and narrowed her eyes at me for a second. Then, much to my relief, her eyes lit up.

"He chose me, Sonny." Okay, she caught me off guard there. I looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "Nick. Jonas. Chose. _Me_."

Point taken. We knew that much when the curly-headed singer bounced back from their honeymoon, his face lit up in every way possible.

"The guy who could get any girl chose me. He could've chosen Miley…even Selena. Heck, he could've gotten the Queen to marry him. But, instead, he chose the girl who spilt her coffee all over him when she tripped over her own feet at Starbucks."

(Side note: Shae previously worked at Starbucks prior to 'falling for' Nick Jonas). See what I did there?

(Another side note: Shae was getting in "that" mode. She was making a point. And it scared me.)

"I couldn't believe it. I still can't. But, Sonny," She leaned towards me, a smile taking over her face, "he's my husband. The most incredible guy who I've ever met is mine. The nicest, sweetest guy who God designed for me is now, officially mine." Her smile widened, and I looked at her, waiting. Alright, Shae. I know that Nick Jonas is a pure sweet man who has a Grammy-worthy voice, but seriously?

Maybe, if a sex tape ever comes out, we might get a better idea.

But then again, this is Nick Jonas.

I'll have to trust his wife's word.

"I married my best friend, Sonny. And marrying my best friend was the best, most wonderful thing that could've ever happened to me. And sure, we have our spats, our major-fights, but nothing overcomes our love for each other. And I think that a lot of the reason of why we're so strong is because of us being best friends."

Shae shut up then, and I looked down at my naked feet.

She knew.

She hadn't been fooled.

But she still thought that Chad and I need to be together.

She'd gotten her point across, loud and clear.

And it scared the living hell out of me.

* * *

**Lyrics:** Bush, Kristian; Nettles, Jennifer; Pinson, Bobby – _It Happens_ by Sugarland

**A/N**: So, it is going somewhere! And Sonny's already gotten caught by good ol' Shae. : ) I really hope that you like this chapter, and I promise things will get more exciting.

Thanks to my awesome beta, I already have the next two chapters beta'd. However, I'm going out of town to the Country Music Festival (and I get to meet Taylor Swift – squee!), and I probably won't be able to update until the 14h/15th. After that, there'll be lots of updates every week. And if you're curious about the CMAFest, my Twitter link can be found on my profile.

Also, the "Cure for the Common Man" one-shot (maybe two) will be posted today – it's called "And Then the World".

I'm sorry for such an impossibly long AN…But, I do hope that you liked the chapter, and I love you guys for reading this! Please let me know what you think.

-Aly


	5. Wasted

**Risky Business**

_"I just want you to know_  
_I'm losing my patience_  
_For the time that you've wasted"_

-_**4**_-

* * *

_September1 6, 2014_

_Yes. He's my best friend. He's amazing._

I sighed as I read over the words scribbled across the sheet of paper in front of me. Technically, there was a list on the sheet of paper, but that was the particular thing that caught my eye.

It was my own quote, one that happened to escape my lips as Chad and I left my birthday party to face the paparazzi hand in hand.

And, of course, my quote had ended up in every magazine, every gossip website, and every jealous-for-Chad girl's head. (Side note: millions of girls are plotting my death…so…yeah.)

One of the paps had shouted, asking us if we were a couple. Chad elbowed me in the ribs, and I let her rip.

Now I was sitting across from Ryan Seacrest, and next to Chad, looking at the list of questions Seacrest was going to fire at me.

I didn't even want to look at what was on Chad's paper.

Sighing again, I ignored the feeling of Chad's eyes on me to look at my interviewer; my sworn enemy.

Actually, I love Ryan. When I was little, especially during the first few seasons of American Idol, I thought that I was going to marry Seacrest.

Now, here I am, (Kelly Clarkson going grey and without kids later), sitting across from him, fixing to explain to the world that Chad Dylan Cooper is not only my best friend, but the love of my…

I can't even say it.

"You're on the air in twenty." The little guy with a notepad and glasses waved at us madly, and then slid back into the shadows.

Let's call little guy with glasses Everett. That's a fitting name.

…Plus, he really can't be that insulted with me for it. I mean, all smokin' hot vamp's names start with 'E'. Emmett, Edward, Esme…

And no, I do not have a girl-crush on the Twilight vampire mama. That's just…ew.

Seriously.

So, anyway, Everett (dude with a notepad) told us we'd be on in twenty.

If it was years, I'd be ready. But it was seconds. And before I could blink, Ryan started his show's welcoming spiel, then introduced Chad and me.

I blocked out his words, fixed in a complete daze. I started thinking of Aubree. The day after my birthday, Chad and I met Jamie and her daughter for lunch. Aubree was so excited that her Uncle Chad and Aunt Sonny were finally dating.

And I couldn't have felt guiltier.

The sweet little girl didn't deserve our lies. Neither did the rest of the world.

I looked over at Chad, and bit my lip. I needed to stop it. I needed to stop all of the lies.

There was absolutely no way that I could go through with it anymore.

"So, Chad, when did you realize that you had fallen for Sonny?" Ryan was looking at Chad now, and I was panicking. I felt the urge to stand up, and wave my arms around. I wanted to at least make an attempt to stop them.

Maybe if Everett could help me by tackling Chad in a vampire…tackle, we'd be good.

Instead of acting out dramatically though, I felt paralyzed. My whole mouth had gone dry, my feet seemed to be broken, and my arms were glued at my sides (symptom of vampire bite? I think so.). All I could do, unfortunately, was let Chad talk.

Maybe he'd make the right decision.

"Well, Ryan," Chad started in his sarcastic-fake voice. I closed my eyes, hoping and praying that he would, indeed, stop it. "It's hard to say when I realized that I had first fallen for Sonny." I opened my eyes long enough to see Chad looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. "I think that the feelings were always there…it just took a while for me to realize it."

I squeezed my eyes shut, yet again, and moved around in my seat. My butt was sweating.

That's what happens when I lie or do something that's not right. My butt sweats. Don't judge me.

In fact, after Shae Jonas had confronted me on the night of my birthday, every inch of my body was covered in sweat. Especially my booty. Moving on, though.

"And Sonny," It took me a second to realize that Ryan was talking to me. At the moment, I didn't feel very Sonny-like. In fact, I felt more Rainy. Or Cloudy. (Stormy's reserved for weathergirls with magical boobs. Watch _Reba_.)"When do you think that you started having feelings for Chad?"

I gulped, unable to look Ryan in the eye. Then, ever so slowly, I opened my mouth, praying for the truth to come out. The world needed to know.

"Like Chad said, I think that the feelings were always there. It just took me a while to realize it." My eyes widened at the words that had escaped my mouth.

I had just lied to the whole world…or everyone who listens to Seacrest. I did the wrong thing. And I had freaking prayed about it before!

Was God getting back at me for something?

…No. That's not His style.

_Are the two of you in love with each other, now?_ Yes.

_Do you think it was better that the two of you were friends first, and then started dating?_ Well, Ryan, they say that two people of the opposite sex can't be best friends without falling for each other. And being friends means that we know everything about each other already, so, in that case, yes.

_So Chad, when are you thinking about popping the question?_ Someday…Near or far, but someday.

_Sonny, do you want your ring to have a gold band, or a silver band?_ White gold is the preference.

_What do your families think? _My sister was speechless when I told her, as well as my niece. As far as Sonny's mom and dad? The same.

_Are there children in your future?_ A hundred./Maybe one.

_Are you happy?_ Happier than I've ever been my whole life.

Ooo000ooO

Shae Jonas was standing five feet away from me, staring at me with a slightly disappointed look on her face. Catching her eyes, I shrugged my shoulders, and looked at Natti Jonas, standing next to her husband.

Joe, with one of his arms wrapped around Natti's shoulders, waved at me with the other hand, and then winked when he saw Chad's arm around me.

It was Nick Jonas's birthday party, and, unlike Chad's and mine, it wasn't held at a club. It was being held at his mother's house, where all of his close friends and family gathered.

And Chad and I being called close friends? Not so much. In truth, I didn't have any idea as to how old Nick was turning. He was either twenty-two, or my age. Either way, probably more accumulated to Victoria's Secret than I am, due to Shae.

Shae was the one who invited us; probably because she wanted to confront me in a bathroom again. Just in case, I was sure to wear underwear that were…extra absorbent.

Giving up staring at the younger Jonases and their wives, I shrugged away from Chad's arm, walked out of the living room, and into the kitchen.

Denise (aka Momma J), and Danielle looked up from icing Nick's cake, smiling and waving at me. Charlotte, on the other hand, ran over to me and threw her tiny arms around my legs. I smiled, picking Kevin and Dani's daughter up into my arms.

"It's so good to see you and Chad together, Sonny," Danielle left her icing tube on the table, leaving Denise to do the job by herself.

Sure, I wasn't that close with Nick or Joe, but, over the years, I've hung out with Kevin and Dani quite a bit. They're such genuine, fun people, and, besides, they co-produce adorable little girls.

With that thought, I kissed Charlie on her curl-covered head.

"Yeah," I frowned, that all-too-familiar guilty feeling coming back to haunt me. I might be closer to Dani, but she's not quite as observant as her sister-in-law.

"Are you hiding out from the rest of the crowd?" Dani straightened her yellow top that showed off her tan perfectly, and then placed her hands on her belly. With that little action, I bit my lip, staring at her flat stomach. I'd have to pay close attention to see if she drank any alcohol later.

"Kind of." Yes, I was. Because, in truth, I couldn't take any more of Shae's glowering at me. But I wouldn't tell Dani that. Instead, I just smiled, and commented on her clothes, and Charlie's dress (pink and purple, covered in ruffles and ribbons. She's four, so we shouldn't expect anything less.).

"Want to help ice Nick's cake?" Denise finally spoke up, a toothpick hanging out of the side of her mouth as she carefully constructed the outline of a guitar.

Before I could bail out, Charlie told her grandmother yes for me, so I was stuck. But, at least, I was away from Shae.

After the cake was served (a marble cake, nonetheless), Shae still hadn't confronted me, and for that, I was extremely glad. I think that Chad had picked up on the fact that I was a little scared of Shae, so he wouldn't leave my side around her.

However, Chad did find it appropriate at one point to pull me off into a corner, within hearing distance of Dani and Natti.

Then, he asked me out, telling me that it would be some place 'fancy'.

I really didn't understand why he couldn't have waited until later. And I didn't understand why we had to go anywhere formal. We're best friends. We eat burgers together and having burping contests.

However, I knew that Dani and Natti were staring at us, trying to hide their grins. I knew that Chad had deliberately asked me to make an impression on them and to let them know that we weren't 'faking' anything'. So I agreed, with a sigh, and attempted to make my way past the Jonas-wives without getting caught.

But, of course, for all bad things, you get punished. Therefore, Chad escaped, but Dani and Natti grabbed me by the shoulders, grinning all over themselves, and dragged me in the direction of the kitchen once again.

I soon found myself seated on one of the cushioned kitchen table chairs, with the girls hovering over me, speaking in their own, wife-happy language.

"He asked you out on a fancy date, Sonny!" Natti grinned, fingering a lock of her shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair.

"We're going to have to take you shopping, Sonny. You need something nice to wear." Dani started, forcing me to look down at my jeans and paisley-printed shirt. I frowned, looking back up at the both of them.

"Dani's right," Natti chimed in, giving my outfit a once over. "The get-up that you wore to your birthday party was extremely cute. Do you have any more clothes like that?" I nodded, too dumfounded to speak. So this was how girls/wives acted when their friends got asked out in front of them. I was mystified.

All too soon though, I caught Dani frowning at me. She'd called my bluff.

"You're meeting us at Macy's tomorrow, okay, Sonny? And we'll find you a really great dress to wear."

"One that's fetch."

Dani and I looked at each other, then looked at Natti, who was grinning all over herself.

And that was when I learned that, even though you're married or tied down in a serious relationship, you can always, always quote _Mean Girls_…or use a term that was made popular by the movie.

_Lie one:_ I'm with Chad.

_Lie two:_ I'm in love with Chad.

_Lie three:_ Chad and I always had feelings for each other.

_Lie four:_ I want to get married to and have babies with Chad.

_Lie five:_ I have nice things to wear. (Side note: lie broken. Dani found out).

Before Chad dropped me off at my place, I suggested that we get a notebook and write down everything that was going on with us…You know, all of our lies.

He agreed that it was a good idea. After all, he was taking this thing seriously. Utterly, terrifyingly, completely seriously.

* * *

**Lyrics:** Allan, M; Dioguardi, K; Hodges, D; James, J – _Wanted_ by Jessie James

**A/N:** Long time no update! And I'm so sorry. I know I said that I was going to be at the CMA Fest (which was great – as always), but that still leaves no excuse. So Sonny's finally guilt-tripping…Oh, wait, she's been doing that since the beginning. Anyway, I hope that you like the story so far. Please let me know if you love or hate it.

And, what did you think of Falling For the Falls? How awesome was the second part of the episode?


	6. Holding Back

**Risky Business**

_"Do you catch a breath_  
_When I look at you?_  
_Are you holding back_  
_Like the way I do?"_

-_**5**_-

* * *

_September1 7, 2014_

Between the hours of 12 pm to 2 pm, I realized three things.

One: I was going to kill Natti Jonas.

Two: I was going to kill Dani Jonas.

Three: If I saw another LBD (little black dress), I was going to go up to the manager of Macy's and give her a thirty minute lecture on…even though they might have a different design, all LBDs look the same. And all LBDs are severely, SEVERELY overpriced.

Natti bribed me with a Snickers Bar to keep my mouth shut, so I wouldn't embarrass her or her future offspring.

Speaking of future offspring, I was pretty certain that another baby Jonas was on the way. Dani, in the hours of our shopping spree, had downed five Twix (both halves, so ten, if you're that way), and three bottles of Sprite. She was also covering up her burps and peeing a lot. Clearly, her eggo was preggo. I was just waiting for her tell me.

But, between Danielle's constant bathroom runs, I found myself in the dressing room, constantly stepping into dresses, fiddling with the zipper, and stepping out of the dresses.

I don't understand the style these days. They either show your bra or your panties. There's no good in-between where they're both covered. Oh, and if they looked perfect, once I got them on, they smushed my boobs and butt. Sucks. So, with that fact, I was getting thoroughly disgusted.

"Come on, Sonny," I heard Dani call from the other side of the door as we were quickly approaching hour 3 of Shopping Torture. "You have to at least let us see you in something."

"Then bring me something that doesn't show my ass and boobs. Then, you might see something." With those words, I threw the five half-dresses (you know the reason why), over the dressing room door, and bit back a laugh as I heard their yelps as they dodged from them.

A few minutes of sitting on the little bench of my dressing room later, a purple-and-green flower printed dress was slung over the door, and I grabbed it, frowning.

Before I could shove it back over the door, I was interrupted with: "If you try it on, we'll give you another Snickers Bar."

They knew me too well. I could never say no to chocolate.

Holding back a sigh, I slipped the dress over my head, letting it fall until it rested on my hips, and then I looked down. It went almost all the way down to my knees. Unfortunately though, cleavage was showing. And sure, if this was a normal date, I'd gladly wear the dress. It actually, as much as I hated to say it, looked good on me. It accented all of the right places, showing all of the right curves.

But this was Chad we're talking about. My best friend. I don't want to go out to dinner with him, purposely showing my cleavage.

"I hear silence."

"Maybe she likes it."

I was drawn out of my reverie by the voices of the pains-in-my-butt.

Rolling my eyes, I unlocked the door, and let it swing open. Dani and Natti's jaws unhinged in unison, and I knew that, no matter what I said and did now, I would have to buy the dress.

My little assumption was confirmed when Dani hugged me, and announced to the world that she had to pee (again).

I've learned that, once you get past the feeling of utter guiltiness over your (many, many) lies, you're still free to be who you are.

So when I had two married women attacking my hair at 5pm, I freely spewed off a few slang words, and cursed their husbands baby-makers (still hoping to get Dani to spill the news). She didn't. She was stubborn.

But she did get my hair to fall into perfect, famous-Shampoo-commercial waves.

Even I had to admit that I looked pretty damn good.

By six, I had makeup on, a pair of nice underwear (not that anyone would be seeing them anyway), and my pretty dress.

By the time Chad knocked on the door at 6:07, I was just a little pissed off.

Next time he gave me hell for being late, I'd remind him that he was late to our first real date. Well, not real _real_ date, but real fake date.

He knocked, and knocked, and knocked, and I took my time opening the door, wanting to make him later than seven minutes. I was aiming for eight. That way, he'd just…_never mind_.

"Sonny, what kind of worm found its way into your apartment, crawled up your ass, and killed you?"

I rolled my eyes, threw the door open, and came face to face with a very stunned, yet very sexy looking, Chad.

I gulped, realizing that I had just thought of Chad as being _sexy_. Then again, I have pictured him naked before, so thinking of him as sexy isn't a big whoop.

Not that I…think about Chad being naked a lot. It just happened once, while I was reading this book. This girl just up and decided one day to seduce her best friend (a guy, of course), and the image of a naked Chad popped in my mind.

…Not that'd I'd ever go there.

Moving on.

But seriously, he was wearing a pair of tight non-skinny jeans, a black button down, and a red tie.

Okay, so maybe he went a little Nick J/Joe J with his wardrobe, but, then again, I had spent a day with Joe J's wife, so I couldn't blame him. I just stared at him.

And Chad stared right back.

It was like we were having this ultimate staring contest, gawking at each other's sexiness (and I did look the part).

"You look," Chad was the first one to humble himself and start speaking, "_good._"

For the love of flipping Billy Shakes, that was all my prick of a BFF could say? I mean, I didn't expect him to go all Chaucer on my ass or anything, but still. I looked better than _good._

"And you look," I started up as I walked passed him, out the door and patting him on the shoulder, "_decent_."

Two could play at any game. And I was determined to win.

Chad just took up his staring after me again, open-mouthed, probably letting killer worms in.

Chad's idea of our first real fake fancy date was taking me to our usual other-hangout. I.e. Longhorn Steakhouse.

While he got the chicken covered in cheese, bacon, and BBQ sauce, I settled for the extra greasy hamburger, fries, and ranch dressing.

Don't get me wrong though, it was such a romantic dinner. I mean, Chad ordered a beer, took a long sip of it, and belched so loud that he caused the baby seated at the other end of the restaurant to cry. That's not the highlight, though. We were seated at a booth, up against the wall (cozy, I know). And while we could've been sitting under a stuffed deer head, or a bull's head, or something…we got to sit under a deer's ass, its little stuffed tail sticking up, saluting all passersby.

I know what you're thinking. You're jealous. I would be too.

At one point, Chad looked at me dead in the eye and said: "I think it'd make this atmosphere more…related if I farted in here. That way, it'd smell like a deer farted, and since we're sitting under Bambi's butt and all…"

(Thus began our conversation on how Chad knew how a deer's fart smelled.)

All in all, I had a lot of fun on my fake date with Chad. Nothing was different. That was, potentially, the problem.

We were just too comfortable with one another.

Then again, we are best friends.

In the midst of all of the fun, Chad received a phone call from one of his "exes". I use quotations because Chad has never really been in a serious relationship before. Heck, he hasn't even dated a girl for a whole month.

Or, at least, not since the first grade when Mary Jane dumped him for Jimmy Eisenhower (she liked him better because of his more presidential name).

(Side note: Nick J won't be running for president. He's just not the type. Shae would be the bitchiest first lady ever.)

But, Chad accepted the call. I could hear her screaming at him from the opposite end of the table. And sure, we were in a crammed, butt-loving space, but still.

And when the waitress came up, she heard the girl on the phone too, glanced at me, and shook her head.

She also shot me a warning glance.

Little did she know, I wasn't just some ex. I was the guy's bestie. I was in the in crowd.

Much to our dismay, we finally put down the forks, and I let Chad get the bill. After all, this was a fake date. And no, I would not be paying him back.

We then made our way to Publix, where Chad ran in and bought Dove Bars, while I stayed in the car and listened to his Owl City CD.

Thirty minutes and eight sluts' phone numbers on napkins later, Chad climbed in his car, winked at me, and fed me the "your place or mine?" line.

I scoffed, yanked the napkins out of his hand, and threw them out the window.

We ended up going back to my place, but not to do anything but watch all of the old Peyton Manning Super Bowls.

You see, Chad is fully against Peyton Manning. I'm fully in support of Peyton Manning.

In fact, despite his old age and all, I'd marry him if he wasn't married.

But still.

It was my life goal to prove to Chad that Peyton Manning was, indeed, THE best.

…And proving that fact was taking quite a while.

Around one in the morning, and three bags of chips later, I received a text from none other than Natti.

_Did he like the dress? Or did he like ripping it off of u better? wink _

That was one text.

_Is the wink right cyber-speak, Son? Should it be *wink* or –wink- instead?_

That was another text.

_Son if u don't answer til morning. I understand. -/wink/- smiles_

That was the second-to-last text.

_Have fun bow-chica-bow-bow-ing. Did I spell that wrong? _

Yes, Natti dear, you did spell _that _wrong.

With an eye roll, I threw my cell down on the coffee table and looked at my dress. It was on the floor, but not because Chad ripped it off of me. While Chad was in the bathroom, I changed to sweats and a hoodie in the living room.

Perfect after fake-date attire, I say.

Chad was just wearing his boxers and one of my sleeping shirts.

In truth, we really were the perfect, old, ratty, used-to-each other married couple.

"What was that about, Sonny?" Chad yawned, staring at the on-going, yet muted game in front of us. Super Bowl of 2010 seemed oh-so-far away.

I looked from my dress, to my phone, and then back to Chad.

Well, this was awkward.

"You know how Natti and Joe, just like Shae and Nick, and Kevin and Dani waited for…_you know_ before marriage?" And as things were going, I was too, apparently. Not that Chad or Natti knew that.

"Um," Chad cringed, "I think so."

"Well, Natti apparently thinks that, just because, uh, she and Joe didn't do any of the uh, stuff, that we're not not doing the stuff." I frowned, and looked at my dress again.

Somewhere in my apartment, Chad's jeans and shirt were resting on the floor. Maybe, if we piled all of the clothes that we had previously been wearing together and invited Natti over, she'd…

Never mind.

I mean…This was kind of an awkward conversation between us. I mean, Chad has, I think. And I…I like God's idea of waiting for my husband.

I think that God's a pretty smart Man, y'know. I mean, He created the cocoa bean, which gave us Nutella, Hershey's, Snickers…

Yeah.

Anyway.

I forced my eyes away from our clothes, and looked at Chad expectantly.

Chad was leaning back on the couch, arms behind his head, with his big, egotistical smile plastered across his slightly obnoxious face.

Sometimes, at certain angles (such as said angle), I can see Chad as an old man…with his smile lines, and all. Still being egotistical and obnoxious, but still being my best friend.

But wait. Why was Chad smiling?

Natti thought that we're having…or doing…the deed.

Why was Chad smiling about that?

Did Chad like the idea of us…doing _that_?

I bit my lip, thinking back over my friendship with him, my heart fluttering as I thought of his twenty-first birthday.

But, of course, everything that happened on that day…happened because Chad was drunk. Chad did not remember a damn thing, and I didn't want him to.

In fact, I tried to forget it.

I feared that if he remembered what had happened, I'd lose him. I did not want to lose my bestie, thank you very much.

With a little sigh, I brushed those thoughts away and gave a still-smiling Chad a once-over.

"This. Is. Perfect, Sonny." Chad was, yet again, grinning all over himself.

Wait, did I miss something?

"When are you seeing Kevin's sex slave again?"

"I'm-" Wait. _What?_

"Huh?"

"Dani," Chad started, rolling his eyes, "is pregnant yet again. Didn't you know?"

I gave Chad THE look. He shrunk back and gave me a little shrug.

"No, dumbass, I didn't officially know. I just presumed. How the heck did you find out before me?"

"Easy with the language, Sonny." Chad held up his hands, laughing. "Nick got a little wasted at his party. He spilled the news to me. Kevin and Dani were supposedly waiting to tell everyone once they got past the month that…they definitely probably won't lose the baby anymore."

_Oh._ Can't be mad at Dani for that, then.

I frowned, then said a silent prayer that Baby Jonas II would get here safely.

"So anyway," I was still focused on the whole aspect of Baby Jonas II, whilst Chad was onto something else (Side note: not me), "when are you hanging out with the girls again?"

"I-I don't know." What a witty response Sonny. What a witty response.

"Well, let me know, Sonny. I'm going to make you a 'surprise' visit when you are."

"Why?" Again, so witty. Not.

"We need to kick our relationship up a notch. Take things up to the next level." I gulped, not fully understanding what Chad was saying.

Why would he want to change anything with us? I was perfectly happy with being his BFF. I wanted everything to stay the way that it was. Why did he want to take things to the next level?

_Wait. _

…Oh.

Our Fake Relationship.

"Oh. Um. How?"

"I know that you're not big on PDA, Sonny, but I think that might have to change." Okay. "And, right before you see them, please lemme know, 'cause that way, I'll give you a hickey, so they'll know things are happening, okay?"

_No._ Not okay.

* * *

**Lyrics:** Kiriaku, E; Crush by David Archuleta

**A/N:** So…not much to say. I'd just like to thank all of my reviewers and silent readers out there! It means so much to me that you take time out of your day to read this story.

Also, for those of you who celebrate it, have a blessed 4th!


	7. Lies

**Risky Business**

_"I can see the way, I see the way you look at me  
And even when you look away I know you think of me"_

-_**6**_-

* * *

_September 23, 2014_

_Letting a seductive grin take over my face, I kicked my pumps on the floor, shoved myself up on the counter, and looked at the shirtless guy in front of me._

_Without a second to lose, he reconnected his lips with mine, shoving his hands into my hair. _

_It never failed to amaze me how he caught me off guard. He was always forceful at first, and then, he'd slow down. He'd go from attacking my lips to a soft, sweet, sensual kiss. _

_And then…then he'd remove his hands from my hair, and place them on my neck. Then, he'd move them ever-so-torturously-slow down my back. Down my back, across my back, back to my neck, to my hair, on my cheeks, on my thighs…_

_Before long, he'd be attacking my neck with kisses, and I'd be running my hands along his perfectly toned chest._

_Every so often, I'd open my eyes to catch a quick glimpse of him. He was beautiful._

_I only stopped looking at him when he reattached his lips to my own._

_And then, with an ragged breath, he'd whisper in my ear that he loved me._

_And my reply?_

"_I love you too, Chad."_

I jolted awake, furious at my…mind (is it mind, or is it conscious?) for letting such horrible things roll around in my…_sub_conscious. Hmmm…

This is what you need a dictionary for.

Moving on.

It was terrible. Ever since Chad had mentioned him giving me a love bite, I'd had dark dreams about us having kissing sessions.

And let me tell you something – dreaming about making out with your best friend is not a pretty sight.

Yes.

Even though, in your dreams, your BFF has the body of _New Moon_'s Taylor Lautner, it's still disturbing to dream about sticking your tongue down his throat.

But, here's another disturbing thing – in my dreams, Chad is an amazing kisser. Seriously it's scary how good he is at kissing me.

In real life, though, Chad is about the size of Nick Jonas (maybe smaller). And he might be a good kisser, but we shall hump that bump when we get to that, if you get my gist.

No?

Well, anyway.

Let's have a summary:

I had awoken, mad at myself for my dirty dark dreams of Chad (just contact me with the email of 'darksweatyhotdreams bffNOTsomuch (dot) com').

After dwelling on my dream for a good five minutes, I sat up, realizing that, yet again, I had fallen asleep on my couch.

I managed to make my way into my bedroom, stumbling over Twix and Snickers candy bar wrappers, an empty bag of M&Ms, and three cans of coke.

And no, I hadn't had a sleepover with anyone, it was just me.

Once I got to my closet, I looked down at my stomach in disgust. I'm normally a size five/six. Currently, I felt like a size 81/82.

That, and my boobs had sprouted about another inch.

There's one benefit of me ODing on chocolate.

TMI?

Well, that's just the way it is. And, no worries, they'll be back to normal come tomorrow.

I knew that today was going to be harsh, i.e. my overdose on junk food last night.

Today, I was helping Chad babysit Aubree, and then, tonight, Chad and I were having dinner with Dani and Kevin.

The married couples were slowly but surely herding us in. They either wanted us to get married, and share the joy that they knew about marriage; or they wanted us to get married, and know just how damn miserable that they are.

I was really dreading dinner. I suppose that it would've been worse had it been Natti and Joe, or even Portlyn and Grady (who were also very, very excited for us), but still, I was dreading dinner.

Pushing aside my depressed thoughts, I finally settled on a pair of sweats and a tank top. It was the perfect outfit for taking care of Aubree; and, despite what we were telling other people, I had no actual reason to impress Chad.

As for dinner, I'd have to squeeze myself into a black dress. Little? Not so much. More like one of those bubble-hem dresses with a loose waist. If only I owned such a thing.

With a huff, I yanked the baggies black dress (sadly, no bubble-hem) of my choice off the hanger, and threw it on the bed. I'd shower at Jamie's house, and steal her makeup, after she and Jason came back from their doctors' appointment (or, their baby's, that is).

It was going to be a long day.

"I think that it needs more chocolate." Eyebrows furrowed, I bit my lip to keep from laughing as Aubree threw her straw down on the floor, and held her cup (filled with chocolate milk bubbles) up to her uncle. Chad looked from his niece, to me, and then to the cup with an uncertain expression on his face.

Yes, the milk was already pitch-black from chocolate syrup, but Aubree wanted more. I couldn't blame her, I'd demand more too. Especially if I knew I had two suckers babysitting me.

"I think that it has enough chocolate, Aubs." Chad pushed her glass away, and Aubree jutted her lower lip out stubbornly. I just stood back, and watched.

Clearly, she was going to win.

"But Uncle-"

"If I put anymore chocolate in there, you won't be able to blow bubbles in it." Chad reasoned.

"Not true," Aubree argued, "the choc'ate'll sink to the bottom. I can still blow bubbles. And then, when I take the last sip, I can stick my finger in and lick all of the choc'ate!"

And with that, Chad sighed, shook his head, picked up the bottle of syrup, and poured it in to his niece's cup. By the time he finished, the milk was almost overflowing, and the bottom was completely, solidly black.

Despite the fact that Chad had given her a new straw, she wouldn't be blowing bubbles anytime soon.

Yet, somehow, she managed to remain a happy camper. With a little happy laugh, Aubree darted off to the family room with her milk, and plopped down next to her big, overstuffed teddy bear.

I sighed, completely ignoring what Chad was saying (though I do believe I heard him use the term 'sweet thaaaang'), and watched Aubree, completely envious of her. Her mind was so pure. She didn't know what it was like to lie about anything major. She had never deceived anyone. She'd never had a dream about kissing anyone yet.

And I…Well, I apparently dreamed about kissing her uncle, who I've never even thought about before. Well, with that one exception.

Don't get me wrong.

Chad Dylan Cooper is attractive. He's not downright hot, or anything. But he does look…sweet. He has a sweet air about him, and yet, every once in a while, his sarcasm is kind of sexy, dare I say. And, if you really look into his eyes, you can tell that they are a shocking blue. They're piercing. When the sunlight reflects on them, you can see that he has little green flecks in them.

Chad's kind of insecure about his smile, but, then again, he does have a lot of smile lines. He's mentioned Botox a few times, but I've forbidden him. Seriously. He kind of looks like he's had Botox already.

Anyway.

I like his smile.

And as for Chad's muscles…

Nick Jonas, I say again. When Chad flexes, they _do_ show.

And Chad's butt…

"Auntie Sonny, why are you staring at the wall like that?" Aubree's sweet, innocent voice pulled me out of my reverie, and I mentally slapped myself.

Was I honestly thinking –slash- describing what I liked about Chad?

Chad is my best friend. He will never be anything more than my best friend.

With a little sigh, I sat down next to Chad on the couch, and watched as Aubree played with her bear, absentmindedly singing to herself (Robin Thicke, nonetheless). I closed my eyes, and shook my head, wanting to get the image of _why the hell_ Jamington would listen to Robin Thicke out of my head.

And yeah, I know that makes no sense.

And Robin Thicke? LOVE him. Want him. He's married, though. But his lyrics? He admits that 'his guilty pleasures array his good health'.

I mean, really, Jamington? Why would you let your baby listen to this?

Moving on.

When Chad carelessly tossed his arm around my shoulders, I realized with a little pang that I wanted to lean into him. I wanted to place my head on his heart. I wanted to be the girl that his heart beat for.

Hell.

I was attracted to my best friend.

Ooo000ooO

Her name was Taryn. She looked like she was twenty-one (ugh), had blonde hair, big boobs, long legs, and a rambling mouth. Chad's dream girl.

Chad, in the meantime, had his mouth open too, drooling over her.

We were approximately one block away from the restaurant where we were meeting Dani and Kevin, when Taryn stopped us, asking for Chad's autograph.

I, apparently, was invisible, which, in all truth, is just fine with me. I'd never want to be friends with Taryn anyway. I just wanted to get into the restaurant with Chad by my side.

Which, if Taryn had her way, would _not _happen anytime soon.

I made my best attempt to pull Chad away from her, but the guy wouldn't budge. So after silently cursing at him, I bit my lip, spun on my heels, and walked the rest of the block (by myself) to the restaurant.

When I stepped inside and let the seating hostess take me to the couple, I caught sight of Kevin giving his wife a small peck on the cheek. Dani blushed in turn, and then proceeded to give her husband a kiss on the lips. I didn't know if I should sit down, or bolt before they got into a heated make out session.

"Hey, Sonny." Realizing I had been caught, I gave Dani a small smile and sat in the chair. This caused Kevin and Dani to give me a confused glance. (Side note: it's true…after people are married for a while, they really do start to look alike.)

I stared back at them, wondering why they were looking at me like that. Was I supposed to start the conversation?

I thought that married people, (since they're married) are more mature, so they're supposed to initiate the conversation.

After all, I…

"Where's Chad?" Kevin finally piped up.

_Oh._

Chad.

Well, my boyfriend-slash-BFF who I'm supposedly in love with is flirting with a blonde Paris Hilton wannabe down the street. I'm sure he'll be here in a few minutes, though. Ya know, after he gets her number and feels her up. But, in the meantime, I'd love a strong glass of something…how about a screwdriver? You know, I might as well have something that mentions the term 'screw'. 'Cause, well, ya know…Chad's screwing me over because he'd _like _to be screwing…

Much to my own dismay, I didn't say what was going through my head. I actually went through one of those brain-not-connected-with-mouth-moments where I talked without actually realizing what I was saying.

"He's just…calming himself down." Was my extremely composed (and witty, might I add) answer, accompanied by a wink.

See? I just alluded to the fact that I had given Chad a…

And Dani and Kevin realized it.

I am so totally the Sherlock/Nancy Drew of the sex century.

"Oh," Dani, for some reason, winked back. "I know how that is." This, in turn, caused Kevin and I to blush.

Why was it okay for me to say it, but overly TMI when Married Person said it?

"Drinks, anyone?" The three of us glanced at our waiter, who was looking at me. (Side note: Might I add…I was kind of pleased that he was. Cute. Blonde hair. Green eyes. A probable six pack under his uniform.)

While the Jonases rattled off their answers, I licked my lips, giving Green Eyes the once over.

I know. I thought that I thought that I was attracted to Chad before, but seriously, I was probably just high off of Aubree's chocolate bubbles.

Anyway.

"A six pack." So. Yeah.

Green Eyes finally turned to me, and that was my brilliant answer.

I flushed, feeling three pairs of eyes on me, and shook my head. "I mean, an, er, a Sprite." _And you. Soaking wet_.

Whatever.

Green Eyes grinned at me, and I attempted to give him my flirtiest smile back. Before I could let loose though, Chad took that moment to walk into the restaurant, buttons on his shirt unbuttoned, and a hickey on his neck.

I cringed.

He glared at Green Eyes, and Green Eyes glared at him.

Without saying another word, Chad was leaning down over me, and, suddenly, his lips were on mine.

"Hey, baby." He said, pulling away, and then giving me another peck on my cheek. I was just too paralyzed to move.

I mean, seriously, how should I have reacted?

"I'll have the most expensive champagne that you have in the place, man." Chad sat down, lazily draping one of his arms over me. I wanted to squeeze out of his grasp. "We have something to celebrate."

I glared at Chad, Dani giggled, and Kevin chuckled, and then we got our drinks, then dinner, and then dessert.

And I learned a few things about married couples.

They like to laugh a lot.

They tell corny jokes.

They hold hands, and share little kisses.

They feel each other up, with their feet, underneath the table.

…Or, they at least try to. The heels on Dani's boots are really, _really_ sharp.

_Lie one:_ I'm with Chad.

_Lie two:_ I'm in love with Chad.

_Lie three:_ Chad and I always had feelings for each other.

_Lie four:_ I want to get married to/have babies with Chad.

_Lie five:_ I have nice things to wear. (Side note: lie broken. Dani found out).

_Lie six:_ I give Chad hickeys.

_Lie seven:_ I give Chad boners. (Or would it be Choners?)

* * *

**Lyrics:** Lavigne, A; Gottwald, Z - _Girlfriend_ by Avril Lavigne

**A/N:** I know. I'm the slowest updater out there. It's summer…and life's busy! Still though, thank you to everyone who is sticking with this story…alerting it/reading it/ and reviewing it. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

-Aly


	8. Interlude

**Risky Business**

**-Interlude - **

-_**7**_-

* * *

_October 8, 2014_

You would think that, like all cliché stories, I'd find myself over Green Eyes and falling for Chad…who had, by this time in the story, already fallen for Taryn (blonde bimbo on street). It would be an unrequited thing…and it would have a happy ending.

Well, this is not a story. This is real life. Chad went out on one date with Blonde Bimbo (we'll call her BB from now on). I had no luck getting Green Eyes (GE?) to go out with me, since Chad scared him off and all.

You know, since the night of Kevin and Dani, and he decided to plant one on me in front of them. It wasn't like it hadn't happened before, but a rush of emotions didn't come filing through me either.

So Chad and I kissed, held hands, cuddled (in public) and acted all couple-y-ish. We'd been on double dates (DDs) with Jamie and her husband, Kevin and Dani (again), Natti and Joe, Portlyn and Grady, and a few others.

And frankly, I was ready to quit. Be done and over with our charade. Because, if they knew the _real _Chad Dylan Cooper, everyone would know why I could never _ever_ be a couple with him. They'd just know why I'm good at being his best friend.

Take five minutes ago for instance. I'm rifling through my closet, trying to find something to wear to some awards party that we've got going on, and Chad's lounging in my bed, drinking his chocolate milk through a straw.

Sexy as hell, right? Every tween girl's fantasy?

Wrong. He was talking whilst his mouth was full of said liquid. And, when he wasn't blabbering his butt off about how blondes are more fun than brunettes (seriously, what a killjoy), he was slurping-slash- blowing bubbles in his chocolate milk. My wonderfully mature best friend guys, meet him. Know him. Don't fall for him.

I somehow managed to get Chad off of my bed (mind out of gutter) and out of my room so I could change.

And when I was left alone, I breathed out a sigh of relief, and then gave an involuntary shiver.

I love Chad, I really do. But being around him…faking it with him, is killing me.

Have you ever heard of the term _stalker_? Five hours after Chad's chocolate milk deal, and the awards show later, I discovered I had one.

His name was Brandon.

Brandon's six inches shorter than me, eighty pounds heavier, has freckles splattered across his cheeks, and a really, really obnoxious laugh.

Oh, and he's known (and been in love with) me my whole life.

It's a dream come true, let me tell you.

Oh, and my beloved fake boyfriend? He's off flirting with some Pixie-Something-or-other (because we're at the hottest after-party and he can).

Whatever.

"And so I tried working for Miley Cyrus for a while, you know, because you and her have connections, and then I tried to talk to Tawni, but she scared me. So when I heard the people here needed someone to clean their bathrooms," –At this moment in time, Brandon thought that it would be okay to punch me (lightly) on my arm and wink his creepy wink. – "I knew that I was their man."

"C-congratulations." I gulped, peering over Brandon's head and scanning the room for Chad. I needed to be rescued. I needed my own personal Enrique Iglesias, who would come, grab my hand, and drive me home. There he'd fix some chocolate-covered popcorn for the both of us and serenade me.

Of course, I would fall asleep on the couch. Seeing that, Enrique, or, let's say, Shia, would scoop my sleeping form up in his arms and carry me to my bedroom. He'd gently lay me down, tuck me in, and kiss my forehead.

He'd then proceed to sit by my bedside until morning, where he would then start playing his guitar again.

One can dream.

Just like my own, personal, stalker-slash-bathroom cleaner.

"…And Miley scared me too. She's so obsessed with that Nick guy, but I guess that Nick's pretty hooked on his wife." I rolled my eyes. Of course Nick would be hooked on his wife. She's un-famous and therefore, un-crazy. Every once in a while, you're lucky if you find a nice, humble famous girl (like me). Most of the time, you get people like Miley. So when Nick found Shae, all of the nice, humble people (me), was extremely glad.

Oh. And I think that Kevin and Joe were glad too.

Anyway, where were we?

"So, I forgot to buy a ring, but would you consider, maybe-"

_Oh_. No.

"Um-"

"Hey, dude." And just, in the nick of time, I was being rescued. Enrique had finally come. I looked over my shoulder to smile at my singer, but when I found Chad's face, I frowned.

Chad looked at me with this huge, gigantic smile, saw my frown, and his expression matched my own. Then he turned back to Stalker and nodded at him.

"Hi man." At Chad's spoken words, Stalker was silent.

And then:

"Hey, baby," Suddenly, one of Chad's hands was placed on my cheek, the other on the small of my back. I was being leaned backwards, as Chad's lips met mine.

It wasn't just a peck. It was like a movie kiss. And hell, it was pretty damn good.

I started to get lost in the kiss; I started kissing Chad back. And then, all too quickly, Chad pulled me back up and his lips left mine.

Not cool.

"Wha-"

"I just thought that you needed to be rescued." Chad shrugged, gave me a half-smile, and walked away. I, in the meantime, felt heat spread over my cheeks, as I looked at Stalker. He looked just as frazzled as me, and a little angry. And, with a huff, he clenched his fists, spun on his feet, and walked away from me.

Alrighty then.

_October 17, 2014_

I decided that I hate (like really, really HATE people in relationships). They always act so smitten and giggly with each other. And, if they're married, and they have fights, they have hot makeup sex with each other.

It's not that I'm jealous of them; I just loathe them.

I mean, c'mon. Really.

Who honestly wants a person at their beck and call every day of the week? Who wants someone to worry about them so much, then…demand certain things from them?

I have my mother to worry about me, and that's enough, thank you very much.

I mean, I'm more of a Gracie Lou Freebush (sp?) than an Elle Woods.

I'm that tough, kick-ass agent who's always there for her fellow partners (or, in this case, friends), rather than the spitfire of a lawyer who probably loves really, really disgustingly romantic movies like all of my other friends in relationships.

I mean, Kevin and Dani, Natti and Joe, Grady and Portlyn, hell, even Nick and Shae probably love chick flicks.

I mean, of course, the guys probably get bored as hell watching them, but half way through, their wife wants to snuggle up to them. And then, seeing their advantage at the end of the movie (where said wife is taken with tears at the romanticness of it all), said husband sweeps said wife up in his arms and carries her off to their bedroom, where they make sweet love to each other.

I mean, seriously. Gag me with a spoon.

Who seriously wants that?

I think that I became disgusted while I was 30-40 minutes into _The Notebook_. Ally and Noah. Who needs them?

When the rolling credits finally appeared, I shut the movie off and started flipping through the channels. Because God likes to pick on me, I landed on Chad's interview with Ellen, taken today.

She had asked him something about me.

His response?

"_Yeah. Yeah. Being in love with your best friend is the greatest thing in the world. And Sonny…she's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. There's no way I'm going to let her go."_

Sweet cameraman (we'll call him Chester) then chose that very moment to zoom in on Chad. Chad's blue eyes sparkled in the camera. His cheeks were flushed with a little pink. And his lips. _Oh_, his lips.

Feeling slightly guilty, I flipped my television off and looked around my empty apartment, missing Chad sitting on the couch beside me.

And with a little flip-flop inside my chest, I realized that hearing Chad say those things made me happy…and secure.

And what's sad?

I kind of wished that what he said was the truth.

_October 31, 2014_

Chad thought that it would be "just adorable" if we went to Grady and Portlyn's Halloween party as some kind of old-timey super-hero couple.

Forget the sensible ones. Forget Superman and…his girl chick (forget Chad in spandex). Forget Batman and his…girl chick.

Chad was dressed head to toe in black, with an extra billowy black shirt on, accompanied by a black mask. I was wearing this ultra old-timey red dress; the top being one of those old-timey laced-up things that makes your boobs practically...(well, let's just say that my cups were running over).

He was Zorro, and I was Catherine Zeta Jones, (let's be frank, we all forget her name in that movie).

"Are you sure about this?" I mean, it was only the hundredth time that I'd asked. But still, my boobs were up and…scaring me.

"Perfectly, Sonny." Chad opened the front door to Grady and Portlyn's house (from now on, we'll just refer to the happy couple as 'Gradlyn' or 'Team Gradlyn'), and let us in. I gulped, giving him one last onceover.

He really, _really_ pulled off the Zorro look well.

Seriously, just looking at him made my heart to this awkward flippy thing.

Chad just stared back at me, a slight smirk forming on the corners of his lips.

Screw Zorro, this was _Pride and Prejudice_ all the way.

You know that scene where Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are dancing in that room full of people, and then, all of those people disappear?

Well, there were dozens of people trying to greet Chad and me, but we were successfully ignoring them. I just wanted him to lean in and kiss me for real.

But, of course, that didn't happen.

After continuing on with our sexy-tension stare-down, Chad finally broke it off by shrugging his butt ugly (okay, honestly, horribly_ sexy_) shoulders and grinning his grin.

Good heavens, what the heck is happening to me?

I mean, just, seriously. Guys make no sense at all.

Why can't love just be simple? Seriously?

It's not like I'm in love with Chad. Really, I'm not. I just think that he's not bad looking, and I kind of like him, and I kind of want him to have feelings for me. Mostly, I just want to have an honest-to-goodness make out session and call it a day, okay?

Twenty minutes into the party later, Chad's arm was around my waist and Tawni was apple-bobbing.

I desperately, _desperately_ needed a distraction.

I needed to scoot my boot away from Chad.

I let my eyes scan the room, until I found my distraction.

And then…

_Bingo_.

Abilene Ames is a twenty-eight-year-old blonde haired, blue eyed publicist (kind of beautiful), in need of her perfect guy.

And Ryan Seacrest…Well he was standing off to the side of her, making longing eyes at her.

The corners of my mouth lifted up in a grin, and I shrugged myself out of a hypnotized-Chad's grasp (he was apparently amazed at Tawni's ability to…bob).

It was about time that this Sonbeam put some of her great talents to use.

And it was Ryan Seacrest's lucky night. He was about to be introduced to his wife.

One hour later,(and Ryan and Abilene…Team Rylene, in love), I was back under Chad's grasp, and growing tired quickly.

Also, yet again, I found myself jealous of Aubree.

She's little. Her parents get to take her trick-or-treating. It's not fair.

She gets a lot of candy, and I get a lot of drunk people (namely Chad) making inappropriate comments to me.

After catcalls and hoots from our horribly drunk friends, I managed to get Chad out to the car, and attempted to talk him into getting in.

But Chad…Well Chad was being drunk Chad. And Drunk Chad never cooperates. So after much protesting and one Bon Jovi song (sung by Chad, of course) later, I finally stomped my foot, crossed my arms, and gave Chad the evil eye.

At this, he smirked, leaned forward, and decided that it would be a good time to kiss me.

Sad thing was, there was no one around.

And here I was, kissing him back, falling for him, and wondering what in the world I was doing.

* * *

**A/N:** Finally, right! I mean, finally (I updated!) and finally (they kissed without anyone looking). Once again, I am so sorry for keeping you all waiting. But the last thing that I will ever do is give up on this story. I'm not going to leave you hanging for months – I'm just not that way. So thank you to those of you who are reading/reviewing and being patient with me. You're all incredible!

And…what do you think?

-Aly


	9. Hell

**Risky Business**

_"_

_"All the right friends in all the right places_

_So yeah, We're going down"_

-_**8**_-

* * *

_November 24, 2014_

"Seriously, Sonny, why don't they put barf bags on roller-coasters? I mean, they're a lot worse than airplanes." I shot my best friend a dubious look and let out a lingering sigh. Welcome to my life. Or Chad.

When we go to restaurants, he talks about deers' asses, and when we're on planes, he fiddles with barf bags and wants to have conversations about them.

It's wonderful, let me tell you.

"Probably because they'd fall out, Chad." I checked my watch, desperately praying that the flight would land soon. But nope, we had a good two hours to go.

"Oh," Chad nodded, "totally. And think of it this way, Sonny." He twisted in his seat to look at me better, shoving his large M&M bag in the pouch of the seat in front of him. "People probably get sick when the roller-coaster goes upside down. So when they do, it just falls to the ground anyway." He shrugged, grinning absentmindedly to himself. "That actually makes a lot of sense."

No, Chad. No it doesn't. And please, quit pulling me into these disgusting conversations, okay? I mean, seriously. Ew.

This time, I was the one shifting in my seat, trying to get as far away from Chad's curious glance as possible.

Then, I sighed.

We were heading to Wisconsin, so we could, in Chad's terms "kick it up a notch". Or would that be that chef dude from TV?

_BAM!_

…Anyway. Chad thought that it would be just dandy if he and I flew to my hometown to have Thanksgiving with my family.

My personal opinion? Dumbest idea ever.

But whatever suits Chad.

This plan has been kind of boring since the day we started, anyway. I mean, it does have its thrilling moments, which make me second-guess my relationship with Chad and all. But, in the long run, it's just been boring.

So when Chad came up with this plan, and I called my mom (who was utterly delighted, by the way), my dad was none-too-happy about it.

And his none-too-happiness got me to thinking that, when I brought Chad home, my dad would give him a swift kick in the balls, which is exactly what Chad needs.

I mean, while I'm being an excellent, reliable fake girlfriend and all, Chad's being an ultra-sucky fake boyfriend.

It started with that Paris-lookalike Taryn. He since moved on to Bredni, Becki, Mindy, and Wendy.

I mean, seriously. Who names their kids those names anyway?

…Oh, and that drunken kiss that Chad pulled me into on Halloween night?

After puking (the irony…) his guts up that night, he completely forgot about it the next morning. So, I was just left assuming that my Drunk Chad was mistaken by the moonlight shining on my hair, and I looked blonde, so he had to kiss me.

And all of that second-guessing that's been going on in my mind? Well, I'm pretty sure that it's strictly one-sided. Chad wouldn't know a serious relationship if it slapped him in the face. And, with me?

He'd probably rather die. I mean, I am his best friend. Nothing more.

We're just pulling this thing to fool the world and its mother.

And really, I don't have feelings for him. That would just be wrong.

"Hey, Sonny, do you think that flight attendant likes me? Because, I swear, she's looking at me like she's hungry."

I looked in the direction that Chad was looking, and caught sight of the flight attendant. She was, indeed, looking at him.

She was, indeed, blonde.

I just bit my lip, patted Chad's leg, and swallowed up that little feeling of jealousy that was currently coursing through me. I mean, seriously, I'm not jealous of Chad and his bimbos.

Anyway.

I think that my cousin Amy was the only one on the planet who hadn't heard that Chad and I weren't together. That, and my other cousin, Jill.

They both knew and loved Chad, and, clearly, they both knew and loved me, so when Chad and I walked up to my parents' house, hand-in-hand, they immediately pulled me away from Chad and escorted me up to my bedroom.

That's where I was interrogated.

And you think Natti, Dani, and even Nick's wife are bad? Meet Amy and Jill.

"Is he a good kisser?" (Amy)

"When did he kiss you? Was there tongue involved? Did you get any hickeys? Did he feel you up?" (Jill)

"Are you two in love?" (Amy)

"When did he tell you that he loved you? Was sans-clothing involved? Did he feel you up?" (Jill)

I looked between my redheaded cousin and the blonde-headed one and smirked. Amy is twenty-five and has been planning her wedding for two years. Jill is twenty-six and is on her fourth pregnancy.

Really, it's hard to wonder why.

"Do you have an 'our song'?" (Amy)

"Of course they do." (Jill rolls her eyes) "Clearly, it's that _Wonderland_ song by John Mayer. I mean, have you seen Sonny's legs lately? Especially with stilettos? I bet Chad and her could spend their whole Thanksgiving vacay in the sack-"

Okay. _Ew._

Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew.

I mean, seriously?

I glared at my cousins, huffed, and stomped my foot. Right now, I was longing to flee with my fake boyfriend and find a really, really good screwdriver. Heck, even a cosmopolitan would work. I'd even take a margarita, as long as the alcohol was doubled.

"You know what song I really like?" Jill gave out this sleazy little sigh and rubbed her cute little baby bump. "_Sex Therapy_ by Robin Thicke. Now that boy can-"

I squeezed my eyes shut and stuck my fingers in my ears.

Why?

I mean, I know. Robin Thicke is absolutely one heck of a delicious looking man…but he's married. And yes, I'm jealous. He has a wife, and a son (Robin says he's going to teach him how to talk to girls…Clearly, if the kid listens to one of his dad's songs, he'll have no trouble.).

Anyway.

I needed to end this now.

"You know what," I clapped my hands together, gathering my cousins' attention. "Chad and I do have a song. It's…"

Think, Sonny, _think_. What's a damn good song that could relate to two friends falling for one another?

"It's _Anticipating_ by Britney Spears." Oh for the love of Robin Thicke's body! I mean…seriously? _That _was the first thing that popped into my head?

A song that has the lyrics of '_let's do this tonight' _in it?

Good grief. Let me tell you, letting your mouth yak before your mind comes into gear is not a good thing. I mean, at least it could've been _Hero _by Enrique Iglesias, or _Collide_ by Howie Day. Now those two guys? Flipping geniuses.

But, of course, my cousins had to give their opinions. Jill nodded in approval (who would've guessed?), and Amy gave me a curious look. I just shrugged in return, pushed passed them, and ran down the stairs to find Chad.

When I finally rounded the corner, I found Chad…with my dad behind him, pointing a shotgun at his head.

Yeah.

Not having a heart attack or anything remotely like that at all.

And you know those nightmares that you have where you need to scream and try to scream but find that you can't get a sound out?

That's what was happening to me. It was damn terrifying.

"And then, when you're right up on them like so, you just pull the trigger..."

I swallowed hard, said a silent prayer, and screamed bloody murder. My dad dropped the gun and Chad spun around, looking horrified.

Well, of course.

I rushed over to my best friend's side and threw my arms around him, shooting a glare at my father as I did so.

Now, I know that we're supposed to be dating and all, but seriously?

Why would dad kill Chad?

It's like that song _Joey,_ that Rachel sang in Glee. You know, where the dad attempts to shoot the guy, but shoots the girl instead?

Anyway.

Chad and I were alive, just barely.

"Hey, Sonny," Chad squeezed me lightly, and my father chuckled. "Your dad was just showing me how to shoot a turkey."

Oh.

Oops.

_Of course._

Shoot me with a bean pole, no pun intended.

You know how all families have whacky traditions? Well, my father's grandfather came up with the grand idea of using a shotgun to slaughter turkeys for Thanksgiving instead of a normal rifle. Brilliant, I know. And, apparently, my dad decided to pass this tradition down to Chad.

CRAP.

I blinked, persistently rubbing my eyes, and scowled at my father. Out of all of my boyfriends…out of everything, he has not approved of one. Yet here he was, acting like Chad Dylan Cooper was his own son!

Was my family ganging up on me or something?

I mean, this shotgun deal meant that he had given Chad permission to marry me…practically.

Chad had said something conniving to my father, while I was up with my perverted cousin and my normal cousin.

Hell.

You know what? I should've been happy. I should've been rejoicing. But all I could think about, was that Chad and I finally gave up and told everyone about our charade my dad would be disappointed with me for forever. That's a really, really sucky revelation.

_November 25, 2014_

I woke up to Chad's hand in my face, and his leg across my torso. Why, you might ask? Because stupid Sonny led stupid cousin Jill to believe that she and stupid Chad were in love. And, well, according to Jill, sadly, in love means liking to cuddle. Therefore, cuddling in the same damn bed. A twin sized one, nonetheless.

And, of course, my father had to give us 'the talk' before we went to bed.

You know…If Chad had any ideas about doing anything with me (ew), my father would wedge it in a tree (again, ew), poor gas around the stump, and light the forest on fire.

Anyway, after watching Chad explain to my father that he had no intentions of sleeping with me that way (and me telling my dad that I'm still…clean), we went to bed.

I built a wall of pillows. Within five minutes, Chad was asleep on his tiny side of the bed (which is, technically, only supposed to fit one person). Within an hour (and me…still sleepless), Chad had somehow subconsciously knocked down the pillow wall. Within three hours, Chad somehow had his entire body wrapped around mine. My breathing supply felt cut off, and I was feeling certain parts of Chad that I liked to pretend didn't exist.

But…they existed, alright.

But…back to the basics. The guy had obviously never been told that he was a certified bed-pig before, and I was stuck there, not really knowing how in the hell to wake him up.

I mean, seriously. What should I do, lick his arm?

I settled for attempting to wiggle out from under his grasp. My attempts failed, seeing as how that only encouraged my friend, and he somehow flung his other leg over on top of me.

This was…just lovely.

Also, Chad's knee was shoving into my bladder, and I really had to pee.

"Chad!" I attempted to yell quietly. Does that make sense?

Well, if it does, it definitely doesn't work. Hell.

Chad moved his knee around, massaging my bladder, and my urges came worse. I silently reminded myself never to drink a glass of water before bed.

Oh, that's right.

Don't drink a glass of water before bed. Don't lie to your family. Don't imply to your cousins that your _Anticipating _(BS style)…doing things with your fake boyfriend. Don't sleep with your best friend.

I mean…BLAH!

I whimpered, and, in turn, Chad whimpered. I couldn't see very clearly, but I think that an obnoxious little grin spread across his face, and he attempted some sort of move in his sleep that was definitely rated R.

I mean…what the hell?

I had had enough. Chad Dylan Cooper was trying to dry-hump me in his sleep, and, in the meantime, his knee thought my bladder was a punching bag.

"Boobs." (I.e. The word that wakes all men up.)

Chad sprang up, looked at me in shock, looked at our position, and rolled off of me…Onto the floor.

Not that I cared, or anything. I just really wanted to pee.

But one thing that I realized? Despite how horribly irritating it was to be held captive in bed by your best friend, Chad smelled really good. And, in truth, he was a really, really good cuddle-buddy.

Around midnight, Chad and I were finally back in my room…alone. Chad had been out hunting with dad all day (heh, picture that). I, on the other hand, was out shopping with my mom all day.

Of course, I had lunch with my cousins. Amy was on the phone with her fiancé half the time, and Jill was giving me tips on…Ew. Just…Yeah.

So when everything was settled, when Chad and I were finally alone, we decided to have a glaring contest.

Obviously, he was pissed at me, and I was definitely irritated with him, but I just didn't understand why.

And then:

"I miss you, Sonny." Chad sighed, giving me that pouty-lip look of his.

But...what?

"Chad, we're sleeping on top of each other, now. How in the heck can you miss me?" Chad gave me a pointed look, and I shut up.

I then proceeded to sit on my half of the bed, and Chad plopped down on the other, throwing a very lacy bra out of the way.

Huh?

Oh, yeah. Jill. Trying to make things happen with Chad and me.

"Ever since we started this plan, things just haven't been the same." Chad started, and I nodded, in agreement. "We used to be so carefree…so careless. We didn't have a care in the world." I bit down on my lip to keep from saying anything. Chad's brilliant most of the time. The rest of the time? _Thesaurus_. That's all I'm saying, Chad.

"I know." I mumbled, but he gave me a look, so I shut up.

"This charade's getting exhausting, Sonny." Chad let out a yawn, scooted closer to me, and wrapped me in a hug.

I smiled, nestling my face in the spot between his neck and shoulder. He smelled of Tide and Axe which was just fine with me.

"Do you wanna quit?" I offered, ready and hoping.

"No, Sonny," Chad stroked my hair gently, and I pulled back, giving him a curious glance. "I think that we should…" Chad swallowed hard, and I copied his pattern. "Make this thing more real."

* * *

**Lyrics:** Tedder, R _- All the Right Moves_ by OneRepublic

**A/N: **First off, thank you to EVERYONE who submitted a review last update. They blew me away! It's always a huge compliment to know that you guys take time out of your day to read my little story.

…And, with that said, I'm curious to know your thoughts on Sonny's family. I also know that this is a huge filler chapter (and they can often be boring), so, once again, thank you for reading!

-Aly


	10. Realize

**Risky Business**

_"If you just realize what I just realized_

_Then we'd be perfect for each other and we'll never find another_

_Just realize what I just realized_

_We'd never have to wonder if we missed out on each other"_

-_**9**_-

* * *

_November 26, 2014_

"Making it more real" apparently meant me standing in a Victoria's Secret with Jill at ten the next morning.

Don't get me wrong. When Chad first said it, my heart leaped into my throat and started beating at a million miles per hour. I started sweating...everywhere. And I even leaned in, apparently thinking that Chad was going to kiss me.

Why, you wonder?

I wonder too.

Instead of kissing me, Chad, the wonderful Cooper that he is, pulled back, away from me, and started talking about my true love – Peyton Manning- with me.

That conversation continued for about thirty minutes, until we both fell asleep. This morning, however, Chad and I both trudged downstairs, holding hands, (a requirement of Chad's). And when my parents weren't looking, Chad requested that Jill take me shopping.

I thought that it would be cool. I thought that we would be buying Christmas jackets and overcoats, or something.

But no.

We were in the lingerie store of all lingerie stores, and my pregnant cousin was currently throwing garter belts at me.

Yeah, just what I need.

Not to mention the fact that she had already picked out five thongs (ew), and three push-up bras that were three sizes too small already.

I mean…why?

Well, apparently if the bra is too small, the more attention you get.

But heck, this is winter, and we are staying in my father's house. Besides this, we are _faking _everything and I would just never…no.

I might dream about kissing him, but ew.

Just. Yeah. I was pretty sure that I couldn't kill Jill because she was pregnant, and I love babies. But Chad was definitely being kicked out of bed tonight.

I mean, why waste so much money on stupid lingerie? Target has nice things, I tell you.

And also…Why in the hell do people wear thongs? I mean, they're like already-made wedgies. Who wants one of those? Honestly.

"Omigosh, Sonny! Look at how adorable this is!" I nearly choked as Jill held up a leopard-print bra and thong set.

I blinked, and looked at the already scanty clothing that was in my hands. There was red, white, and blue (how very patriotic…not). Then I had zebra print (Side note: I kind of love zebra print. But, in this case…ew.), cheetah print, and now? Leopard print.

Jill was apparently creating a patriotic Amazon through my undies.

I mean…Victoria's Secret is supposed to be famous for its "pink". Why couldn't she just pick a pink, comfortable set out?

Anyway.

I just mumbled something that even I couldn't understand under my breath, shook my head, and walked over to the section of the store that carried the lotion.

That, I could put up with.

Besides, if I was nice and smooth, maybe Chad would slip off of me while we were in bed.

Ooo000ooO

Personally, I think that going out to dinner the day before Thanksgiving is just plain stupid. Meet cousin Jill, her husband Laketon, and my fake boyfriend-slash-bestie, Chad Dylan.

Don't get me wrong, I'm always in the mood for Outback Steakhouse; but on the day before Thanksgiving and on a double date? Wrong.

"So, Chad," Jill leaned forward, probably squishing her baby bump against the table. Poor kid. "Sonny and I bought some really nice things today." (She said this whilst winking about eight times.) So damn subtle, I say.

Chad, in the meantime, talent-filled, choked on his sweet tea, slapped a hand over his mouth, and turned bright red. For a split second, I wondered if I should give him the Heimlich, but then I remembered that he was the one who sent me lingerie shopping. I just let him choke. It'd make its way down and out eventually.

And what was Jill's husband doing in the midst of his wife's horny implications? Texting his mother. Not kidding.

I leaned back in my chair, contemplating pouring Chad's sweet tea over him. I mean, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. This is the season in which I should be thankful for A LOT of things.

Like, I'm thankful for my fans. I'm thankful that none of my fans came up to me in Victoria's Secret today. I'm thankful for Amy, who really is subtle. I'm thankful for my mom, who's good at being what she is. I'm thankful that Jesus saved me.

See? I'm thankful for a lot of things.

And what I'm not thankful for?

Taryn. Chad being Chad. Me fake-dating Chad. These little things that make me second guess Chad's and my relationship. Jill's unsubtle comments. Thongs. Bras that are way too small. The creepy waiter looking at me from across the restaurant.

Sucking in a breath, I elbowed Chad in the ribs, while he casted a glare upon me, whispered for him to look in the direction of the creepy waiter. ( We'll call the creepy waiter Peter from now on.)

Chad then proceeded to glower at Peter. Peter must've ignored him though, because he started coming straight towards me.

And when I thought that he was going to walk right past our table…he stopped. Right in front of me. And then he delivered a very, extremely lame pick up line. I mean, come on!

Jill was biting her lip, looking between Chad, Peter, and me, and Laketon was still texting his mom.

I could tell that Chad was panicking, because, well, I was too.

And then?

Then Chad stood up, pulling me into a standing position right along with him. He then decided it would be nice if he engulfed me in his arms, tilted me backwards, and initiated a fake boyfriend/girlfriend make out session right there in the middle of an Outback.

Somewhere in the background, I vaguely heard Jill comment on how it was "all because of Victoria's Secret".

_November 27, 2014_

I firmly believe that that of the male species uses the football game as an excuse to get out of helping in the kitchen.

I.e. Chad, my dad, Laketon, and I were gathered in the family room around the television, while mom and Jill worked in the kitchen.

I know, I'm a girl…but Peyton Manning was playing. I _cannot_ miss a game.

Another thing I'm thankful for? Peyton Manning. And football uniforms…especially if they're white. I mean, baseball uniforms are sweet too, but only if they're white…and tight.

Anyway.

Mind out of the gutter, Sonny.

Some people have traditions of going out and playing their own game of football, I know, but we're different. We sit and stare and wait for the lingerie-loving, and childbearing women to get the food done. Then, we eat.

Two hours later, we were doing just that. My mom and dad were seated at opposite ends of the table…because, ya'know, they're the bosses. Jill and her mommy-loving bitch (aka Laketon) were sitting across from Chad and I…because, ya'know, we're the couples. Jill's kids, in the meantime, had their own little table where they ate their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and giggled over their own little inside jokes.

Damnit, I was jealous of stupid Jill's kids.

I kind of wished that Amy was here, but she was off with her hubby-to-be, eating at his family's place. Damn Amy's hubby-to-be.

I mean, she's not exactly part of his family yet, ya'know?

But Chad's not really part of mine, either. I mean, he's my best friend and all, and he has his own inside jokes with my family and all, and now my dad has approved him for the role of being my husband, but…

Yeah. What gives?

"I'm thankful for…" My dad cleared his throat, and began his long, drawn-out speech about how freaking wonderful his family is, and how wonderfully glad he is that Sarah Palin is the president (amen, dad). But seriously? I fought the urge to roll my eyes, and glowered at my father.

Why?

Hadn't I just gone over how thankful I was for everything? I mean, shit.

Laketon was next. Shockingly enough, he said that he was thankful for his mother. I mean, wow. Jill mentioned that she was thankful for good chain stores (alluding to Victoria's Secret, her home away from home). My mom went next, giving the longest freaking speech of all.

Then it was Chad's turn.

He shifted completely in his chair where he was facing me, and reached for my hands. And then, he looked me in the eyes and said:

"I'm thankful for this girl in front of me. I'm thankful that she's the one that I'm in love with. That the girl I want to spend the rest of my life with is my best friend."

I mean…what?

I blinked, and somewhere in the distance, I heard my mom sniffle, and Jill blew her nose.

And yes, my heart did do this gigantic, gold-medal worthy back-flip inside of my chest, but still, I knew it was just an act. So, in that order, I narrowed my eyes and glared at Chad.

He smirked, knowing that his whole little Thanksgiving spiel was Oscar worthy. But, of course, he had to finish it. So, he leaned forward, and gave me a little peck on the lips (thus electing sighs from Jill and my mom).

When he pulled away, I made sure to kick him in the shin with my heeled boot. Chad yelped, of course, but quickly covered it up with a smile and lazily placed one of his arms around me.

Best Friend Bitch.

"So Sonny," My mom started, "what are you thankful for?"

My grand response (that made my dad choke)?

"Victoria's Secret."

Ooo000ooO

"So, I thought that Peyton Manning was good tonight." Chad said this whilst he was coming out of the bathroom, walking towards my bed.

I know…it's our bed. Because, you know…we're this extremely wonderfully fake couple.

Chad said this whilst he was walking towards _our _bed, with boxers on and his shirt off.

Who knew that Chad had a really, really nice set of guns, along with some pretty rock-solid stomach muscles?

Not me.

I licked my lips, shaking the perverted thoughts from my head. No. I am _not_ Jill.

"Mmmm-hmmm." I mumbled, sliding under the blankets. I was wearing the only appropriate things I had gotten from Victoria's Secret. Cute little (pink) pajama bottoms and a cute little (pink) pajama top. I looked cute and little and I approved of how I looked…just so you know. However, I was still pretty irritated with Chad because of his whole little dwonky speech at dinner, so I was giving him the Half Silent Treatment.

I capitalize it because I can. And if you don't know what it means…sucks for you.

"You look cute in those PJs, Sonny."

Why would you bring this up, Chad Dylan? Besides, I know I look damn adorable. And you look damn hot. And if you give another one of those thankful speeches and tell the truth when you give it, I think we could make hot and adorable kids together, mmmkay?

I kept my mouth shut.

"Have you ever meant to type the word _shirt_, and then accidentally typed _shit _instead?" I glared at him. I've been doing a lot of glaring these days.

But seriously…what the heck kind of conversation starter is that?

I mean…seriously!

I just grunted, hoping he would catch on to my Half Silent Treatment.

"I was accidentally sending a text message, and it happened." Chad groaned, throwing his hands above his head for dramatic emphasis.

Then, I pouted. With us sleeping in the same bed (_our_ bed) and all, Chad had failed to send me any of his sporadic text messages throughout the night, and I was missing them. I mean, just because he was sleeping on top of me and all did _not_ give him the right to not send me any text messages.

And who the heck was he texting to anyway?

I opened my mouth to ask him, and then quickly shut it.

It just better not be Taryn.

Chad, in all of his shirtless-boxer (they were black, by the way) glory, must've finally picked up on my Half Silent Treatment and decided that he had better shut up as well. He pulled the covers back, and crawled into bed right beside me.

And then, just when I was about to flop down on the pillow and shut my eyes, his arms encircled me, and he pulled me flush against his chest.

…Not that I minded. He smelled wonderful. Tide, Axe, and some sort of really, really awesome cologne.

I was glad that I smelled good too. I was wearing Victoria's Secret Heavenly, after all. And heck, if we had kids, they would smell freaking perfect. Of course, they'd be smelling perfect without the Victoria's Secret smell.

So what did I do, being pressed against Chad's chest and all? I breathed him in, closed my eyes, and wrapped my arms around him.

Then Chad proceeded to press a kiss on the top of my head, and say "I love you, Sonny."

And you know what? I loved him too.

…Pretty sure that I don't love him in the same way that he loves me. And I knew that if I said it back, I would move my arms, wrap them around his neck, and plant a kiss on his lips. He would then (in my fantasy and all), slowly lay me back on the bed, and deepen the kiss.

And then, one thing would lead to another, and…

Yeah.

But I kept my mouth shut, hating that I had just realized what I had just realized. Stupid freaking Colbie Caillat. We really were perfect for each other, Chad and me.

And I'm totally UNthankful for my love for him.

* * *

**Lyrics:** Caillat, C; Reeves, J; Blue, Mikal – _Realize_ by Colbie Caillat

**A/N: **Holy cow! You guys are the BEST! I can't believe that you made the last chapter the most reviewed of this story – but I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart! Every review brought a smile to my face…So, thank you.

And I hope that you like this chapter too! If the song "Realize" didn't exist, I probably wouldn't have been able to write it. I also hope that you like Jill; I loved writing her character (sad, I know).

Please let me know what you think. And did you pick up on how irritated Sonny was over Taryn? :) Also, she loves him! Finally.


	11. Falling

**Risky Business**

_"I've been spending all my time just thinkin' 'bout you,_

_I don't know what to do, I think I'm fallin' for you"_

-_**10**_-

* * *

_November 28, 2014_

Being unrequitedly in love with Chad Dylan Cooper is a bitch, let me tell you.

And it's not really that kind of nice bitch feeling that you get used to; it's that cruel, heartbreakingly bitch of a feeling that knocks you upside the head at random hours of the day.

Take this morning for instance.

I wake up in the crook of Chad's arm to find him leaning over me, staring at me. My first thought is to lean forward, kiss him, and keep the kisses going. (I was wearing Victoria's Secret, after all.)

Instead, Chad decides to slap the palm of his hand against my forehead, ask me if I'm feeling okay, and tell me that I was sleeping too damn long. (This would be coming from the short-headed Fabio leaning over me, shirtless and in his boxers. Bitch best friend.)

So, brushing my nice fantasy of him away, I slap the palm of my hand against his forehead, and tell him he has a temperature. Or he will, if he doesn't get the hell off of me.

Chad, of course, hurries up, gets off of me, and strides into the bathroom. Let me paint the picture for you.

Chad. A relatively good looking actor. In boxers. Walking away at a nice, slow pace.

I needed to wash both my eyes, and my mouth with soap.

I mean, since when do I ogle over Chad Dylan Cooper's ass? I mean, no one on the planet does that. Oh. Wait.

Hi, Ryan Seacrest, interview me now. I can talk to you for at least an hour about how damn swaggerific my best friend is. Him and his ass. I mean, I know I was after Chris Pine and Ryan Renolds for a while, but I think that Chad is totally the bombdiggity now. I think that I'm falling for my best friend. I'm totally Taylor Swift in her 'You Belong With Me' video. Chad Dylan is totally my Lucas Till. So, Ryan Seacrest, what gives?

I groaned, sat up, and threw my pillow across the room, then flopped back down. Who was I kidding, anyway?

Ryan Seacrest is totally happy with Abilene Ames. They probably had a smoking hot make out session the night I introduced them, are on their way to best friend land, and will be married within the month.

The thing is…Ryan and Abilene, Nick and Shae, Jill and Mother Lover are all happy. Are probably all best friends. But, unlike Chad and me, they can make out with each other any time they want, and ogle over each other's asses as much as they want, without faking a single thing.

Me?

I'm totally, ridiculously jealous, and it sucks.

"Sonny, it's your turn now."_ Oh. Sweet. Lollipop_.

Whilst I was having Taylor-Ryan-Best Friend thoughts, I didn't realize that Chad Dylan Cooper was in my bathroom, showering.

But, about ten minutes later, he stepped out, a towel hung low over his waist, giving me a nice little heart attack.

Hi, are you there, God? It's me, Sonny. Thank you for making Chad. Thank you for giving man the power to make too-small towels. But seriously? A heart attack before I've sipped any coffee? Not cool.

I mean…Chad was wet. He was tone, and he was wet, and his hair was wet. And, in truth, I had no idea what to do. I mean…I could've sat there, gawking at him for forever and forever's mother, but still…_Yum_.

Chad sauntered over to his suitcase in that slow, painful way, turning his back to me. I licked my lips, feeling ridiculously creepy for staring at him…But then again, I didn't really care.

Believe me, if you saw him, you wouldn't either.

(Side note: I've kind of wondered how Shae and Nick's wedding night went. I never really understood how she found any hotness in him. But, with Chad, Chad's ass, Chad's wetness, and his towel, I completely and totally understood.)

Beside the point, Chad was digging through his suitcase, pulling out his clothes for the day (we were flying back to Cali), and I was still there, impatiently waiting for him to drop his towel and change in front of me.

But nooo.

After he finished grabbing his clothes (which there were…_clearly_, too many of), he turned around to face me, folded his arms, and smirked.

Ahem, Chad, you keep standing like that. Just wiggle around a little more and just…You know…

Never mind.

Realizing that I needed to wake up and face the music (you know, I eventually figured out that Chad wouldn't be dropping his towel in front of me any time soon), I gave him an innocent shrug, threw the covers off, and stalked off to the bathroom.

About fifteen minutes (and me, soaking wet later), I figured that two could play that game (y'know, Chad's Towel Temptation one), so I wrapped a towel around myself and walked out of the bathroom.

Except, Chad wasn't in my bathroom.

He was probably downstairs smoozing my dad.

Bitch best friend.

Ooo000ooO

"Don't forget, when you feel the least like making love, wear the zebra print. When you feel spiciest, wear the solid color sets. That way, your personality and lingerie will balance each other out." These would be Jill's departing words for me. I mean, who in the whole wide world has relatives like this? Just me?

Well, if anyone wants to take Jill, please do.

Her other kids are fine, but I always can't help but to wonder…will the one she's currently harboring be as perverted as she is?

Let's hope that the kid is more like Jill's husband.

Then again, if the kid is at all like Laketon, he'll be calling Jill so many times a day, that his horny mother's personality will finally catch on and… Ew.

"Bye, Jill." I pulled away from our little embrace, waved at Laketon (who was talking to Chad…probably about his mom), and dashed in the airport.

I already had a tearful goodbye with my mom and Amy, and a sarcastic one with my dad. Jill's just that little, horny ray of sunshine that makes everybody look forward to bigger and better things.

Somewhere in the background of Jill's life, is a Michael Scott making constant jokes off of the things that she says. No pun intended.

And if you don't get what I just did there? Sucks for you.

Anyway.

Ooo000ooO

You know that myth about a cat having nine lives?

Meet Nathan, the cockroach that I supposedly killed upon the minute I entered my dwelling. Actually, after Chad dropped me off (without coming in), I stumbled into my bathroom, because I really, really had to pee. And there Nathan was, on my toilet, probably taking a leak.

I screamed, grabbed my bottle of Bath and Body Work's _Moonlight Path_ shower spray, and sprayed the sucker.

It ran around for a little while, paranoid by the fumes, but finally gave up, crawled into a corner, and waited for Cockroach Heaven.

I'm a girl, so I of course refused to pick it up. Chad could handle that job tomorrow, when he brought my Starbucks by.

Then an hour later, as I was in the kitchen grabbing a bowl of Cheerios, Nathan flew by.

I know what you're thinking…But no, it couldn't have been another cockroach. Because, when Nathan flew by, he simply reeked of _Moonlight Path_.

As he flew back and forth in front of me (probably pacing…debating on how to murder me), I didn't know whether to grab a frying pan and run after the pest or just let him go.

Chad would never love me. Maybe Nathan would.

Nathan then landed on my counter, and started walking backwards. I'm really not sure how he managed, but he did. And then, he took off, aiming straight for me.

It was like Attila the Hun, let me tell you. Out of instinct, I grabbed the sink spray thingy and aimed for him.

In a few seconds, he was dead.

Or so I thought.

Two hours later, I was on my couch, in sweats, downing a pint of Ben and Jerry's when Nathan flew by.

This time, he smelled like a watered down version the spray.

This….This frightened me.

Reflexes kicking in, I reached for my cell phone on the coffee table and pressed '3' – my speed dial for Chad.

I'd call the police…but they might claim me as crazy, so, yeah. No thanks.

"Chad…could you please help me?" I was sure that Chad perceived me as scared and frightened on the other end.

"Sonny, I'm-wait, what's wrong?"

"Just. Hurry."

It really was an emergency. This really was a killer cockroach. And it really was out to get me.

Nathan…Oh, screw it, his name is now Lazarus…landed on my coffee table, causing me to gulp, clutch my cell phone closer, and utter silent prayers.

I mean, how many deaths do you hear about where people get killed by cockroaches? None. Nada. Perhaps because the little pests have a secret tactic.

You know, once they bite you, they give you a heart attack, so when the doctors do your autopsy, that's all that shows up. The disgusting bugs walk away free and clear.

You don't hear about cockroach jails or anything like that.

Nathan-turned-Lazarus belonged in one.

Nathan-turned-Lazarus was backing up again, probably getting ready to pull out all the stops and finally put an end to me. I whimpered, thinking about all of the things in my life that I hadn't done.

I mean, Chad would never know that I'd fallen in love with him. And even though he probably doesn't feel the same way back, he'd at least know how I felt. I mean, who doesn't like to hear that someone loves them? Seriously.

I wanted life. I wanted to live. I wanted Lazarus to let me be. I wanted Chad's comfortable arms around me.

With that thought, my apartment door swung open, causing Lazarus to bolt off the coffee table, rush by my head, by Chad's head, and out the door.

Thank. God.

In the midst of it all, I heard Chad let out a slew of cuss words followed by a "what the hell was that?"

"A-Attila the Lazarus." I stuttered out as Chad finally stood in front of me. Then, my eyes widened.

Early this morning, (when he was on top of me), Chad was wearing boxers.

A little after that, he was wearing a towel.

During the plane ride, he was wearing jeans and an Abercrombie T.

Now…Now he was wearing slacks and a white button down. Since when did we have a date?

"Attila the Lazarus?" Oh. Right. I looked at Chad (who was looking at me dubiously) and shook my head.

"It was a cockroach. The reason why I called you."

"That," Chad's blue eyes were widened to their fullest extent, "was not a cockroach. It was a bat that smelled a lot like you." Chad walked over and sat down on the couch beside me, while I bit back a nervous laugh.

Half nervous because of the cockroach. The other half nervous because Chad looked really, really good. And I wanted his lips on mine.

"I tried to kill it with that spray stuff you bought me."

"That Bath and Bodyworks stuff?" Chad nodded. It was sickening how calm he was being about this whole situation.

"Yep." Change of subject. "You look nice." He looked edible, but I wouldn't say that to his face.

"I had a date with Taryn." Chad shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

My heart leaped inside of my throat, and smattered into a thousand pieces.

Way to break a girl's heart, here.

I mean…Taryn's blonde and Paris Hilton-like. How could he honestly go out on a second date with her? What did he see in her?

He belongs with me.

She's a slut, and I wear sneakers, she's slut captain and I'm on the bleachers…

Damn you, Taylor Swift.

(Side note: We ALL know that that's how the original, non-edited version of that song goes.)

Damn you, Taryn.

…And, blondes aren't more fun. If you don't have Victoria's Secret, you're no fun at all. And thanks to Jill…

It's been a really, really long day.

So what should I do?

Clearly, I should apologize. Because, clearly, Chad wants to be with Slut Bitch instead of Cute Bestie (who's longing for him).

Instead:

"You-You walked out on your date for me?" came my whining voice. Way to sound totally cool and totally casual, Sonny. You totally deserve a freaking Oscar for that one. Blah.

"Um, you kind of sounded desperate." Chad laughed it off, and I merely felt a glare coming on.

Way to be nice to your Cute Bestie, Bitch Bestie. I mean…seriously? Slap me in the face, why don't you, Chaddywhack (literally)?

I held my tongue.

I kind of wished that Chad was holding my tongue. Or massaging it…with his.

Like I said…long day.

"And I completely understand why. That thing was totally humongous! I mean…Grand Canyon huge. Sonny, I would've been out of the apartment, how'd you do it?" And there's the best friend I know and love (like…really…_love_).

But…we can't dwell on that now, can we?

"How'd your date go?" Why did I have to ask that question? I mean…have you ever felt your heart break? It's totally not an exaggerated saying. I felt mine break at that question…because Chad likes Blonde Bimbo Bitch and not Cute Bestie.

Why?

I'd like to know why.

"It was..." Chad shrugged, and bit his lip (looking adorable, might I add), "okay."

And just like that, one tiny, pathetic piece of my heart fell back into place. Feeling bold, I held my arms out, crawled into Chad's lap, and let him engulf me in his famous bear hug.

I mean…being besties is totally the best. But, y'know, if Chad could throw in a kiss, make out session, make-love (session), and the L word every now and then, that'd be pretty great too.

Oh…

I'd also take an engagement ring, wedding ring, and about five cute kids if he was offering…But that's just…yeah.

Snuggling up to him after his date with Bimbo was enough for now.

At least, that's what I wanted to make myself believe.

* * *

**Lyrics:** Cailliat, C; Nowels, R – _Falling for You_ by Colbie Caillat

**A/N:** Hey everyone, I'm SO sorry that it's taken me so long. Lots of things came up, I started classes again, and life got hectic. I promise that I'll never take this long to update again, though.

On another note, Chad dropped his date to rescue her from a cockroach! And no, I have no idea where the cockroach scene came from. :)

So, if you're still reading, thank you! And I'd love to hear what you think. :)


	12. Sober

**Risky Business**

_"Let the time time pass  
'Cause we're never getting old"  
_

-_**11**_-

* * *

_Flashback: August 23, 2011_

Clearly, I had every reason in the world to be depressed.

Chad, my best friend since I landed on the set of _So Random, _was turning twenty-one. All grown up. All old. All stupid.

Oh, and _The Office_ had just announced that this year would be its last.

No more Michael Scott…No more Dwight and his weirdness…No more Jim and Pam. No more Jam.

Honestly, give me one _Office-_watcher who can live without seeing-slash-discussing Jam. I mean…seriously!

There are too many changes going on today…And I'm pretty sure that I'm on my way to having a nervous breakdown.

And the sad thing is, I'm a lot younger than Chad. I mean, yes, I'll be twenty in a couple of weeks, but still.

He's twenty-one. He can legally drink…and rent a car in the Cayman Islands.

Actually, he can't do that until he's twenty-five, so ha. (Side note: This means that he won't be robbing in banks until he's twenty-five. Not that he needs to, but still.)

But anyway, Chad's old, there'll be no more Jam, what the heck is the world coming to?

The only highlight I can think about is the fact that Chad's sister, Jamington, just had a cute, yet bald baby girl.

I bet Chad a hundred dollars that she would have red hair…to copy her mother's feistiness.

Chad took the bet on that she would have blonde hair, after his own…prettiness.

Sad fact: Chad thinks that he's pretty. He openly admits it and discusses his "beauty" with everyone.

It disgusts me, but I go along with it…because, sad fact: Chad's actually not that bad looking.

And I just got put in _People's 'Most Beautiful'_, so I'm not that insecure about my image either.

Though Miley Cyrus did get put in there…And she's just…well, blah. Or ick. Either way you want to look at it is okay with me.

(Side note: Nick Jonas is now dating this cute little un-famous girl. We – meaning me – hope that he's going to marry her. She just…puts him in his place, and I like that.)

Anyway.

So, because Chad was turning twenty-one, he was having some sort of huge birthday party at his house.

(Side note: Why on earth would you want to celebrate being an old man? Huh?)

I, as his bestie, was invited (of course).

Not that it makes me happy. I already warned him that I wouldn't be giving him a present. I do NOT promote old age.

Nuh-uh.

No way.

God and I have a deal that, once I turn twenty, an Edward Cullen type dude will find me, bite me, and I'll be twenty forever.

Sounds good, I know.

But seriously…what's the good part about getting older? Clearly, this Edward Cullen type dude will marry me before he bites me, we'll go on our honeymoon, he'll impregnate me with a half-demon-half-normal kid (so that will take care of me having babies), then, when I go to give birth, he'll bite me.

Strangely enough, I have it all worked out and it all makes sense to me.

Now, I tried to explain this to my cousin Jill, but she just shook her head and rolled her eyes. She then proceeded to tell me that there was no such thing as an Edward Cullen "type dude".

I think that this is because she majored in Psychology, and all of them are trained to be uptight and high-strung.

She's pregnant now, by her husband Laketon, and has retired from her job. I have a feeling that she'll mellow out some…One can only hope.

But anyway, I was forcing myself to go to Chad's birthday party. He needs me. He needs a shoulder to cry on. He needs some support, so when his hips go out, he has someone to fall on…

I need to be there for him, because he's my bestie.

That's just the way it is.

Five hours later, I found myself in some bright yellow mini-dress that accentuated my tan perfectly, standing in front of Chad Dylan Cooper, my _old_ best friend.

Not that Chad was having any trouble being old…He was drunk.

Disgustingly drunk, might I add.

Under each of his arms stood two blondes (i.e. four in all), and they were all wearing shorter dresses than I was.

Not that I minded. Not that I was jealous.

I mean, really, I do not like Chad in that way.

Seriously, I don't.

But…it just gets annoying. Why blondes?

Why not redheads, or brunettes? Girls with blue and pink highlights are fun too, I hear.

And it's not that I don't love blondes, because I do. Chad's one. My cousin is one. My dad is one.

I just think that the ones who have had surgeries to make their chests larger than Mount Everest are stupid as can be (i.e. Heidi Pratt. Or is it Monta-Something? Do I even care? No.).

When I turn twenty, I'm going to work hard on a campaign to ban all breast implants. Natural cups are fine, thank you very much. I'm a C…and really, they're hard to handle. So I just don't get why chicks have a need to make theirs bigger.

I mean, really, who enjoys big boobs?

We'll leave out Chad here…Because, well, he's drunk. And, as I've observed him in his drunkenness so far, he's quite the shallow dude.

But let's observe the Jonas Brothers for a second. Kevin is married to Dani, and I'm pretty sure she's a B. Joe has Natti, and I think that she's a C…along with Shae, who is Nick's girl.

Now, with Miley and Selena? My bet is that they're both A cups, who decided to wear pushup bras/ or get implants.

I'm just saying.

Now…how the hell did I get to talking about cup sizes? I mean…seriously. And no, I do not have ADD, but still.

I blame it on the fact that there'll be no more Jam, that Chad is old, that Chad is drunk, and Chad likes fakes.

Chad is the king of fakes.

Especially fakes who think it's appropriate to snuggle up to him…

I mean, seriously. They were laying their heads on his shoulders and everything. Snuggle bitches.

I scowled in disgust, realizing that Chad obviously did not need my comfort, moved around the snuggly blondes, and headed up the stairs in Chad's house, where I found his bedroom.

I then proceeded to make myself comfortable on Chad's bed, grab the remote, and turn the TV on. Ironically, _The Office_ was playing. It was that episode where Jim finally reveals his love for Pam (his best friend), kisses her, and then she turns him down.

No worries though. A few seasons later, they get married and have a baby. Because, clearly, they're meant to be.

And I might not be sure of whom Chad is meant to be with, but clearly, he is not meant to be with a blonde, who has boobs the size of the Great Barrier Reef. Just saying.

Somehow, I had fallen asleep in Chad's bed (at his birthday party, nonetheless; which really makes me a great friend – not); and had been knocked out for…I rolled over to look at the alarm clock sitting on Chad's nightstand.

Fanfreakingtastic. It was three am.

A few thoughts were racing through my head at the time. Such as:

Where in the world was Chad?

..and

Why in the world didn't anyone come to get me?

Chad had a cake. They were supposed to sing happy birthday to him! I was supposed to sing happy birthday to him.

And yes, I know that every other person at Chad's house was drunk as a skunk, but still, I am Chad's best friend.

And also…No cake is better than someone else's birthday/wedding cake. That's just the fact of life. No matter how much you spend on your own cake, the other person's cheaper cake will be better.

Chad had better left me a piece of cake.

And, I ask again, where in the world was Chad?

My question was answered moments later when the door of Chad's bathroom swung open, revealing my inebriated best friend in nothing but his sweatpants and a white V-neck. He looked exhausted, and, as he sat down opposite me on the bed, started clutching his forehead.

"Congratulations, Chad," I shook myself awake to where I could actually talk to him…not that he'd care. "You're officially old." I scooted over in the bed to where I could massage his back. Yes, I was mad at him for getting wasted, but still…he looked awful.

"I-I know, Sonny," Chad stuttered as I kept massaging him; he then leaned back, probably enjoying the rub-down. "I-I'm sorry. I really don't know why I did it. Alcohol tastes like crap." I snorted at his statement, causing Chad to chuckle.

"Alcohol sucks." He repeated. Yep, he was still, definitely drunk.

"Well, I'm sorry that I fell asleep." I was. I missed the cake.

"S'ok, Sonbeam. You weren't missed." Well gee, thanks Chad. I'm glad we're so open and honest in our relationship (where we're supposed to be best friends), that you can insult me like that. Thank you!

Chad couldn't read minds though, and he obviously didn't care that I was behind him either. He started laying down, crushing me, until I moved out from under him. Yet when I went to sit up, he pulled me down, and rolled over to where he was face-to-face with me.

It was then that I figured out what he was doing in the bathroom. He had brushed his teeth, and probably gargled too.

Hey, at least he was a clean drunk.

I had to give my careless drunk best friend some points – or pointers? – after all.

"Except by me." Woah! When did his voice get so damn husky? His husky voice penetrated my thoughts, catching me off guard.

It was at that moment that I happened to look into his eyes, nearly getting the breath knocked out of me. His eyes were…really something.

So there I was with Chad Dylan Cooper, lying there in the dark and staring dreamily into my best friends eyes.

I really should've recognized that this situation was not good at all…kicked Chad in the you-know-where, and fled; but I was all too comfortable in his bed.

…Let's just forget that the above rhymes for a second, okay?

Thank you.

Like I said, I should've fled (from his bed…which wasn't red…but was in my head), but I continued to lie there. And then Chad thought it would be nice if he moved his head closer to my own. …So, he did. And he also licked his lips.

Never before had I even given one thought to his lips but, _my_, they looked appealing.

And before I knew what was happening, one of Chad's hands was on my waist, the other on the back of my neck, and his lips were on mine.

The element of surprise flooded through my veins like a hurricane was raging outside. I opened my mouth, gasping, and Chad took that as his advantage to bite down on my lower lip. I, in turn fought him back.

The kiss was heated, yet desperate, and so much more than I could've ever imagined.

Before long, his lips were on my neck, the soft skin behind my ear…everywhere. It was like we were lost, and never wanted to be found.

In all honesty, it felt like it stopped quicker than it started, and the minute his lips left mine…the minute his hands weren't touching my skin, I wanted him back.

But the minute that he wasn't touching me, he mumbled three words. Three words that really did knock the breath out of me.

And then he fell asleep.

But the words "I love you" wouldn't stop ringing in my ears, and that night, sleep never overtook me again.

* * *

**Lyrics:** _I Like It_ by Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull

**A/N:** So…there's the flashback! It should've been more, and I wish that it was better. This was just one of those chapters that didn't want to be written, but had to be. I hope that you liked it. There's a lot more I can say, but I'll just shut up and wait for review replies. :)

Thank you so much for reading!

-Aly


	13. Undone

**Risky Business**

'_Cause everything you do and words you say,_

_You know that it all takes my breath away,_

_And now I'm left with nothing"_

-_**12**_-

* * *

_December 3, 2014_

It's been...oh, what, a week, maybe less, since I've figured out that I'm not going to fall out of love with Chad any time soon.

Want to know something? Knowing that sucks like hell. I mean, I would honestly give anything for him to just show up at my door one day, let me open it, and him declare his love for me.

And then, we'd share the most amazing kiss that's ever graced the face of this planet ever. The kiss would start out at my door, him leaning in from one side, me leaning in from the other. Chad would then walk me backwards (closing the door behind him), until my back came-to with the kitchen counter. He'd then lift me up, and I'd sit there for a while, kissing him. Eventually, I'd wrap my legs around his waist, and he'd carry me to the couch, where we could lay down and get a little more comfortable. Because, heck, we're both really lazy beings and we both hate standing up with a passion.

After about a hundred kisses and a couple of dozen hickeys later (and a few more whispered _I love yous_), we'd sit up and watch _XXX State of the Union_, or some other action thriller like that.

Why? Because we're cool like that.

I mean, _My Best Friends Wedding_, or _When Harry Met Sally_ are always options…but still. In one, the guy best friend marries a blonde bimbo, leaving girl best friend heart broken (i.e. blonde bimbo is Cameron Diaz, girl best friend is Sonny…no, wait, Julia Roberts). In the other, the two people start out not being able to stand one another, then they eventually become inseparable, and then they eventually fall in love.

Is the last one not Chad and me?

I mean, yes, Chad is, of course, better looking than Billy Crystal. But I'm totally Meg Ryan, minus the blonde hair (side note: Meg Ryan's blonde hair is just fine in this case).

I need Chad, and Chad, one day, will realize that he needs me.

Taylor Swift says so.

And, this is beside the point, but, you know how I used to say that I never pictured Chad naked? Well, now I'm kind of picturing his towel-covered ass on a day to day basis.

It's sad and sickening, but when I try to think of something else, it usually evolves me and Chad having a nice make out session, or something more…Victoria's Secret worthy.

It just sucks.

If Michael Scott were here…

Anyway.

Chad and I weren't watching any cool action movie, nor were we watching a BFFs Get Together: Chadson Inspired Movie!...We were sitting on my couch next to a still pregnant Jill and her husband, watching _Miss Congeniality._

There's something about a man (this man being Chad) knowing every single line to a chick flick. And there's also something about a man crying at the end.

But no, we're not at the end.

I just know what's going to happen, because this is Chad's favorite movie, and I've only seen it with him eighteen billion times, m'kay?

As for Jill and Laketon, they decided that it would be fun to let Laketon's mom (did anyone predict that?) have the kids, and come visit Chad and me for a week.

So, Chad being the freaking fabulous fake boyfriend that he is and all, decided that he needed to "move in" to my place to make our freaking fake relationship more presentable…and real.

I'm pure, and I hate it that people think that it's okay to live – let alone sleep together – before marriage. It's just not. If the guy can't respect you long enough to wait, then that's a dead-end relationship as far as I'm concerned.

And yes, I have extremely evil and impure fantasies about my best friend, but that's just…Get a life, will you?

I mean…There's a 100% chance that Chad Dylan Cooper isn't your best friend (because I have that job), and there's also a 90% chance that you haven't seen Chad's ass.

Because, well, Chad's Chad. And as heartbreakingly painful as it is to think about him doing things with another…

Hell.

Anyway, Chad's living with me for the week that Jill and Mother Lover are here, and that's that. Oh, and he's also a wimp because he mouths along to whatever the heck Sandra Bullock is saying in_ Miss Congeniality_.

I am Sonny Monroe. I am not a person who lectures people on what they do or don't do behind closed doors.

Heaven forbid Chad actually fall for me, because I probably will become a hypocrite and…

Well, if Chad falls for me, Chad and I will get married no matter what, soooo…

"I wonder if Sandra Bullock ever goes to Victoria's Secret." This would be coming from Jill, right after good ol' Sandy kicked the male playing opposite her on his ass.

Are we surprised that Jill wonders this? Not so much.

"Yeah, well," Chad puts his empty bowl of popcorn on my coffee table, leans back on the couch, wraps his arms around me, and kisses me on the lips. It's just a little peck, but the thoughts swarming around in my head after he does drown out the rest of what he says.

I mean, seriously. We'd be such a cute couple!

Besides that, have I mentioned that Chad smells sooo much like Tide and Axe? It gives him this really, really manly smell.

And I smell like Ed Hardy, the perfume that Chad bought me. The smells mix. They mix better than Faith Hill and Tim McGraw's perfumes. I mean…we'd honestly be so cute together.

Heck, we are so cute together. If only Chad would wake up and realize that.

I closed my eyes, and burrowed my face in Chad's armpit. And while this might sound disgusting, Chad was wearing a black V-neck (not that I'd mind him in less clothing)…and he smelled good.

Did I mention that Chad smelled good already?

Oh.

"You have to wonder why they never put people's parents in a movie. I mean, they are the reason why they're there, aren't they." I rolled my eyes. Rolling my eyes was kind of difficult, because, you know, my face was snug as a bug up against Chad's pit and all, but still.

Can anyone guess who said this? Anyone at all?

Did someone say Mother Lover…Jill's husband, Laketon?

Ding ding ding, we have a winner!

Being buried in Chad and all, I kind of felt him silently chuckle. Honestly? Coolest feeling in the world.

Lately, I've realized that I really don't mind Chad on top of me, or me being close-slash-buried in him these days…but…anyway.

As Michael Scott would say, that's what she said!

I'm pure though…seriously.

Shhh…Sonny, shut up!

Suddenly, all of the Starbucks that I had inhaled this morning (that Chad had brought me…in bed), began to kick in. Honestly, I have no idea what overtook me. All I know is that I shifted myself to where I was sitting in Chad's lap, placed my hand on the back of his neck, brought his head close to mind, and kissed him.

Somewhere in the background, Jill sighed happily. As did I.

Because, even though Chad thought that I was doing it for Jill and Mother Lover's benefit, I was really pretending that we were boyfriend and girlfriend, and I could kiss him just because I wanted to.

Want to know something sad? I sleepwalk. I also sleep-talk, which is oftentimes _not_ a good thing.

Such as, around, let's say three in the morning, I woke up…finding myself standing up in my kitchen, having an in-depth discussion with Laketon.

How in the hell we started this in-depth conversation, I have absolutely no clue. And whatever the hell we were talking about…don't know either.

All I know is that Laketon looked very serious, and very concerned, and this worried me.

"You're going to kill yourself, Sonny." Okay. So, apparently I was talking to Laketon about committing suicide. Fanfreakingmazing.

"Um," I blinked, looking down at my Victoria's Secret pajamas (Jill had bought me another pair), "no I'm not."

"You are." Laketon shifted, and I gulped. What was he, playing some sort of mind-game on me? Was he talking me into killing myself?

I immediately began scanning my kitchen for any weapons. Self defense cannot get you arrested, right?

"When Chad cuddles up to you, you have the happiest expression on your face ever. When he kisses you, you look like the happiest person in the world. And faking this? Sonny, you might be attempting to prove a point to the rest of your family and your friends, but I see that you're falling for Chad. Hard. And it's killing you."

Oh, well isn't this just the loveliest…Wait.

So, in my sleep, I confessed me faking it with Chad to Mother Lover?

Smooth, Sonny. Really, really smooth.

Firstly, I felt like kicking myself because I betrayed Chad by telling Laketon all of this (in my sleep, nonetheless). Secondly, I felt extremely wimpy because I was confiding in Laketon about my hidden feelings for Chad. Oh, joy.

"Um, Laketon, can we, um-" I swallowed the lump in my throat, absentmindedly rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

Honestly, why did I have the right? What made my…subconscious think that it could go ahead, and, while I was asleep, talk to a guy who was so extremely dependant on his mom?

I mean, seriously!

"Can we, uh, keep this between you and me?" Yes, Laketon, even though you can go out and make millions of dollars by feeding the news that Chad and I are faking it to one magazine, I totally expect you to keep this news a secret.

Your mother would be seriously disappointed in you if you didn't do me this favor.

"Yeah, Sonny, I won't tell anyone." Laketon gave a sleepy sigh, and took a gulp from the glass of milk that was in his hand.

Seriously, who drinks milk in the middle of the night? I just thought that it happened in dumb books and movies.

But then again, this is Laketon. He's a mother lovin', baby producing…cousin-in-law of mine (I really would've liked to have ended that statement with 'Cousin Bitch' but I decided to practice a little self control.).

Wow, I'm spunky at three am. Seriously, I amaze myself.

"But Sonny," Laketon sat his glass down on the counter, "I really think that you should tell Chad about your feelings for him, at least. It's killing you. Please, Sonny. Jill is the love of my life. I couldn't imagine one moment without her. And the day that I told her I loved her, I had no idea that she would return the feelings, but she did. And here we are."

Yes, Laketon, here you are. Four kids and a million dollars wasted at Victoria's Secret later. Bravo.

"Jill is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I want what we have for you and Chad. Because, honestly, if anyone could be as happy as me and Jill, it's you guys. But, as for now Sonny, you're just killing yourself and your relationship with Chad."

Seriously, Laketon? I'm killing myself? That is brand new information!

I had about fifteen billion snarky comments that I wanted Laketon to hear, but I held my tongue, offered Laketon my thanks for his awesome advice (note my sarcasm), and trudged back to my bedroom that Bitch Best Friend was currently residing in.

When I slammed the door shut, Bitch Best Friend was sitting up in bed, his white V-neck was wrinkled, and his muscles were just…

Yeah. Anyway.

Hi Chad, I love you. Can we please get married? I'd take you looking like that in the middle of the night every single night. And that concerned frown that you're giving me right now? It's kind of a turn on, so please stop it. Or continue it and then kiss me, either way.

I hopped into bed (this one was a King-sized, thank goodness), and buried myself under the covers. Chad was looking at me, biting his lip, obviously exhausted because of the time, and confused, because, well…

But he wasn't speaking to me.

So, since I was already awake and more than doing my share of talking tonight, I decided to open my mouth first.

"Needed a drink." This would be a lie. Laketon needed a drink. I, obviously, felt the urge to exercise both my legs and my mouth in my sleep. However, it was my life's goal to not let Chad no this bit of information.

"Are you feeling alright, Sonny?" Chad's voice was muffled, but…Oh. He started shuffling towards me, somehow ended up on my side of the bed, and wrapped his arms around me.

Snuggling Bitch Best Friend.

"Um-" Yeah, Chad. I'm doing great, thanks! I just really want to kiss you right now, is all. Oh, and if you could tell me that you loved me, so I didn't have to tell you first, that'd be great too!

(I find that it's necessary to use lots of exclamation points early in the morning)

"I'm fleepy." Okay. So that's a new word. Definition: (adj) A combination of both 'falling for you' and 'sleepy'. Luckily, the last word had the dominance in my new word. Let's be thankful, and have a moment.

Chad gave me an incredulous look, obviously not having a clue as to what the hell I meant.

"Really? Fleepy?" His voice was hoarse. His voice is always terribly sexy when it's hoarse.

"Yeah." Taking advantage of the position that Chad had put me in, I snuggled deeper into his chest, smelling in the Axe and Tide. I swear, those smells will be the death of me.

"Sonny, you're too funny." Chad somehow managed to pull me closer to him, as we both rested our heads on the same pillow.

I was none-too-thrilled over this latest development. Okay, so what now? I'm a clown.

I mean, yes, Nick rhymes with dick. Clearly, all of the Nicks out there have the worst name in the world.

But why does Sonny have to rhyme with funny? Shouldn't I be insulted about this? Can I whack my best friend on his cute blonde head?

Clearly Chad didn't even notice the fact that it rhymed, because he's exhausted. Me, on the other hand? When I'm exhausted, I have a bad case of…things.

But still, I probably should have been more focused on the fact that Chad was holding me, over the fact that my name rhymes with funny.

"Chad," Okay, so I apparently wasn't done talking, "What do you think would happen if we were to ever date?"

Okay. So tonight's my night to say stupid things (obviously).

Chad didn't even pull away. His chest didn't even tighten up. I did feel him smile though, which was odd. Can you actually feel someone smile?

Well, I can feel Chad smile, because, obviously, we're supposed to be together. Because, Chad and I together are just better than Chad and I not being together. After all, two is better than one.

Okay, Boys Like Girls and Taylor Swift need to enter this conversation now.

Maybe it's true, I can't live without Chad. Maybe Chad and I are better than one. There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life, but Chad's already got me coming undone. I'm thinking Chad ought to kiss me now.

Do you see what I did there?

What do you think?

I agree, too.

Anything involving Taylor Swift is right, after all.

But seriously, it was about time that Chad answered my question.

"I think that we'd…" Chad started, and I (im)patiently waited for him to continue. As a matter of fact, I tugged on his shirt, hoping that it would strangle him just a little bit until he finally said that we would be fantastic together. "…we'd probably never go out after the first date."

I felt the urge to pull back (and whack Chad…Chaddywhack), but Chad held me to him.

"Because," Oh goody, Bitch Best Friend had a reason for us not to date. "We already know each other so well, so why date? We'd probably just order a pizza, sit on the couch, watch a movie, and have an amazing make out session in the midst of it all. And after that went on for a few months, I'd probably propose. And then, we'd go on to get married, have amazing sex, and some really cute kids."

Chad…

What can I say? THANK YOU! YOU ROCK!

I mean, that's the dream. That. Is. Da. Dream, Man!

I mean…Chad must've been reading my exact thoughts. This is because Chad and I know each other so well, and…I mean, woo!

Before I could confess my harbored feelings for Chad, Chad started laughing.

I wanted Chad to stop laughing. I did not appreciate him laughing.

Why, you might wonder?

Because Chad laughing means that he's not serious about pursuing my dreams.

"Why, Sonny, what do you think would happen?" Oh, that's nice, Chad. I mean…he did stop laughing long enough to know my opinion.

Which had changed drastically after he started laughing his butt off.

"We'd probably kill each other before the date ended." Kind of like I wanted to kill him right now. You know, he already stabbed me in the heart and all, so I might as well return the favor.

Wait… Wait a minute. We're not Romeo and Juliet. Clearly, I'm still Juliet, but Chad's just that one dude who was determined to keep Romeo and Juliet separated. What's his name? Bitchad or something?

"You know what," Chad started, drew in a deep breath (I swear, he was smelling me hair…which smelled really good, thanks to Herbal Essence). "You're probably right, kid."

For some reason, his voice cracked. Not that I had any idea as to why.

But before I could give him a taste of my sarcasm, Chad's fingers were underneath my chin, slowly tilting my head up towards his. And before I could ask what in the world he was doing, his lips were on mine.

For the first time all day, I had no complaints.

* * *

**Lyrics:** Johnson, M; Swift, T – Two is Better Than One by Boys Like Girls feat. Taylor Swift

**A/N**: Hi guys, how's it going? I just want to say that I'm sorry about this once-a-week update thing, but I'm starting classes now, and everything's busy, busy, busy. Once it settles down, then things should get better.

I really hope that you liked this chapter. The flashback (last chapter) was a pain to write, but…I love Jill, and I love Laketon, and I love how Chad's voice cracked at the end, so this chapter's all good with me. : )

If you've gotten this far with it, thank you so much for reading! I always love to hear your thoughts on the chapters, by the way.

And, off subject, but did any of you watch CR2? I haven't had time yet, and…Chloe Bridge's mouth kind of frightens me, but I plan to soon. I'm also getting great fanfic recommendations by some of you reviewers, so if you have anymore, let me know, and I'll find time to read them!

And, last but not least, have a great holiday weekend!

-Aly


	14. Risky

**Risky Business**

_"You're everything that I ever wanted,_

_And this kind of thing doesn't just come around_

_Every time you go looking for it."_

-_**13**_-

* * *

_December 4, 2014_

I had no complaints for about two seconds, because, of course, Chad pulled away from me after that. He then pulled me to him in this bear hug-thing, and mumbled a "Thanks for being my best friend, Sonny."

I mean…really. Where does he get off?

Call 911 and Laketon, because Chad is killing me, slowly but surely. Not softly, either. It's more like a swift kick in the butt each and every single time he breathes.

Thanks for that little conversation we had last night, Laketon. It really helped me to feel nice and cheery today! I mean, I'm not overlooking anything at all. I was totally okay when Chad pecked me on the lips! I mean, he can go ahead and keep kisses like those coming, because they certainly don't rip my heart out at all.

Okay. So the above is a lie.

But I swear, next time he decides to up and peck me on the lips, I'm going to slip him the tongue. Then, afterwards, the finger, because he deserves it. And we'll see just how well he likes that (because, trust me, he won't).

By the time that I woke up...like _really_ woke up this morning, Chad was out of bed, out of the apartment, filming his little surprise appearance on a new television show that I had already forgotten the name of, because a) it dealt with zombies and b) Zac Efron was not in it.

So, there.

Oh, did I fail to mention that Chad had left me a sticky note on the fridge? It said, and I quote "Sweetie, there's a Starbucks caramel macchiato that has your name on it in here. Love you! Chad."

Of course, I melted a little. But then Jill had to come up behind me and "awww" loudly, which ruined the whole thing. I could dream that Chad really did love me and all, but really, it was just a show for Jill and Laketon.

Well, now, technically it's just a show for Jill. The ship of deceiving Laketon has sunk already. …Actually, it didn't sink, so much as an iceberg hit it at three am, and crashed Chad's and my plan (and my heart). You see, Chad and I have this movie coming out in the spring, it's called _Titanic 2: Chad and Sonny's Adventure: Irony is a Bitch, and Taylor Swift's Songs Don't Help That Much_. Looking forward to it? I know I'm not.

Laketon soon came up to stand behind his wife, read the note, and shot me a disappointed glance. Ignoring him (and pouting), I yanked open the fridge, pulled out my iced caramel macchiato, and proceeded to blow bubbles in it.

Why?

Because, a) my heart leaped into my throat and then smashed into a million pieces when Laketon double-reminded me that my little sticky note was just for Jill, and b) it's still fun to blow bubbles in anything that has milk in it.

I've learned that once you get past the age of twenty-one (where you act like a stupid drunk…constantly), you can act like a kid again. Chad more than me, but still.

Could you just imagine Chad and me with a kid of our own? That kid would have the funnest parents ever. Like, in the history of fun parents…we'd be the bombdiggity of those. Besides, the kid would be gorgeous. I mean, haven't I heard this before? I know that whoever said we'd have a cute kid in the past is right now. Why? Because I've discovered that I'm in love with Chad.

Maybe Pregnant Cousin was wearing me down. I mean…I can't have a baby with Chad. To have a baby, you have to be married (or, at least the Jonas Brothers and I do). To be married, you have to be in love (you both have to be in love); and to (both) be in love, you have to go out on dates and be a couple.

…I know what you're thinking. You and Chad are a couple! But no, we're a fake couple.

You wanna know what the definition of a fake couple is?

Def: Fake Couple (noun)- One person who likes putting on a charade for people, while the other person falls hopelessly in love with said charade-liking person.

Use it in a sentence?

Fake couples suck.

I mean…I swear I'm the next Merriam Webster. I'm actually a cross between good ol' Webster and UrbanDictionary.

Moving on.

Let's skip to how Jill is standing in front of me, rubbing her belly, while I'm sitting on the barstool in front of my kitchen counter licking the caramel out of my Starbucks cup. Laketon left about an hour ago, hoping to catch up with some dude he went to college with.

This dude…strangely…is not his mother. Just thought I needed to add that one in.

"So Sonny," Jill holds a hand over her mouth, belches, and then goes back to massaging her stomach (ah, the joys of pregnant people), "what's the best part about being in love with Chad?"

Why, Jill?

Never before had I understood the term 'felt the blood drain from my face' until then. I mean, this is Jill we're talking about. If she had asked me about negligees, body lotion, or other Victoria's Secret products, I wouldn't have been surprised at all. But this question happened to frighten me. It was deep, scary, and mother-ish, if that makes sense.

And, well, Jill's a mom, I know. But I don't think of her as one. I just think of her as the cousin who used to help me sneak out of the house when we were really little, and we'd talk about what it'd be like to kiss a boy. What's sad is that we're grown up now. We're not innocent anymore. Jill's deep and I'm heartbreakingly in love with my best friend (and it sucks).

Jill gently tapping her pregnantly impatient (it's a term!) foot against my tiled floors drew me away from my miserable thoughts.

Oh, she wanted an answer. That's nice, Jill. I want answers too. Such as, why can't Chad tell me that he's in love with me too?

You know, that's the unanswerable question in life.

Some people wonder why the sky's blue, but the answer to that is simple. It's not because of some scientific hoopla thingy, it's because God made it that way.

God made it that way…actually, He made the whole earth in seven days. You'd think that it'd be really simple for Him to reach down, press a button in Chad's head, and make him realize that he's in love with me, but no!

Anyway, where were we?

Oh, right. The pregnant cousin needs an answer. I racked my brain for thousands of excuses…for something cliché to say. And while it might have been cliché, I told Jill the truth. I told her that, somewhere, somehow, I must've always been in love with Chad. It just took me a painfully long time to realize it. And the best part about being in love with Chad? The answer to that question? Chad's my best friend. Being able to be in love with your best friend is the greatest thing ever.

Jill smiled a half smile, and her eyes grew misty.

You know how I was irritated with Perverted Jill before? Now I missed Perverted Jill and quickly wanted to ditch Motherly Jill.

"You know, Sonny, I have three little girls at home," Jill still kept rubbing her belly absentmindedly, and I smiled to myself, thinking about little Maddie, Lori, and Hannah, "and I'm expecting this little boy." She sighed, her hands pausing their rubbing motions for a split second. "And I know that not every moment's going to be perfect for them. Hell, sometimes I feel like pulling all of my hair out. Sometimes, things just get so demanding and overwhelming that I wish I could just flee…for like a whole year. But then I take one look at their sweet, innocent faces, and I know that that's the reason why I'm here. I wake up in Lake's arms every morning, look at his face, and realize that he makes my life. And then when I feel the three little bodies of the sweetest kids that we made together cuddled in our bed between us…it makes my world go around, Sonny. And I know that it's my duty, it's my mission in life to make the world a better place for my husband, and my kids." Jill stopped, drawing in a deep breath, and looked at me pointedly with her crystal blue eyes.

I nodded gently, knowing that she had a point;_ understanding_ her point. She didn't know that I wasn't dating Chad, but she did know that he was my best friend…she did know that I was in love with him, so, therefore, she presumed that I was going to marry him. And for some reason, she thought I was having doubts about Chad and me, but she wanted to reassure me. That, in the long run, it would all be okay.

If she only knew.

Ooo000ooO

Five hours later, I found myself sitting in Burger King, watching as Chad blew bubbles in his soda. Just…don't ask.

"So," Chad said between slurps, "what do you want for Christmas, Sonny?" You. Under my tree. You can/or can't be wearing wrapping paper and a bow ('cause either way would be utterly sexy and adorable). Thanks for asking, Chad!

"Er…a Starbucks gift card." Because, really, when you make millions a year, it's really a pain to dish out four bucks every morning on something as delicious as a coffee. That, and I'm on a first name basis with all of the people at Starbucks. I think they hide their smirks as I fork my money over to them every morning. A gift card would say that someone cared enough about me to pay for my coffee. Therefore, the smug jerks from Starbucks wouldn't be able to smirk, and I could walk away with an extra bounce in my step. And yes, I know that Chad was kind enough to go out and buy me a macchiato this morning, but still. My reasons for wanting a stupid gift card are logical, okay? (Side note: my reasons for wanting a shirtless – an extra bonus- Chad under my Christmas tree are much, much more logical…)

"That's dumb. I'd at least ask you for something more reasonable. Such as, I want you to get me a dolphin, okay?" Sad thing? He's serious. I just nodded my head and stuck a fry in my mouth. "By the way," Chad continued on, "what are your plans for Christmas? If it's anything like Thanksgiving, and we're still keeping 'us' up, I think we should spend it together." And here's where I melted, just a little. Truth be told, I wanted us to still be keeping whatever we had up…No Michael Scott "that's what she said!" jokes there, please. I just wanted Chad and I to be together, for real. And the fact that we weren't was slowly but surely…Actually, Laketon already covered this. I'm killing myself. Woo-hoo!

But the sad thing is that Jamington emailed me this morning about me spending Christmas with them, because she already planned on Chad being there.

Sad thing? Chad must've forgotten what he was doing for Christmas. This would be why Chad does not do well with serious relationships.

So, my mission here was to subtly remind Chad that he was going to his sister's for Christmas; and I was also to let him know –subtly- that I had already been invited.

Life is totally fun living a charade.

Actually, let's scratch that. It's pretty damn risky living a charade. Risky business, Alex DeLeon style.

Okay.

So, if this whole thing with Chad flops and he doesn't fall in love with me, I'd totally take Alex DeLeon (from The Cab) under my Christmas tree. I like his hair…his eyes…his voice. Definitely acceptable.

Anyway.

"Chad, weren't you invited to Jamie's for Christmas?" He glanced up from his Whopper, looking at me dubiously.

"Well, duh. That's where we'd be having it. And I told her to send you an email-"

"She already did."

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" For a split second, Chad glowered at me, and I did the same for him. Too much for my subtle plan.

"I-"

But before I could come back with a sarcastic comment of my own, Chad had to be such a good best friend and all, place his hand over mine, and say, "You know, Sonny, I really think this plan is working. Jamie's inviting you to her place, because she thinks that we're really close…Well, scratch that, she knows we are, because we're best friends. But she thinks that we're closer than that. Like, in love, or something. I mean, she already thinks of you as a sister and all; and her dreams are probably coming true, because she thinks that you're eventually going to be her sister-in-law, and, oh hell, what am I trying to say?"

I looked at him pointedly, trying to telepathically communicate to him that he was supposed to say that he's in love with me. For real. Right here.

And, Chad, Jamie's invited me to her place for Christmas for the past three years, when we weren't (fake) dating. I've just politely turned her down (because I wasn't in love with you then), so I could spend more time with my family. But seeing as how I think that I'm somehow going to win you over over this Christmas, I'm going to your sister's place. Does that make sense?

Chad didn't reply though, because he's an idiot who can't read my mind.

"You were saying that our plan is working."

"Right," Chad took his hand off of mine (and, sad fact, my hand immediately missed his), and clapped his hands together. "Jamie believes it, the Jonas wives believe it, Ryan Seacrest believes it, Jill and Laketon believe it, and, oh Sonny, did you read the comments on all of the gossip sites? It's wild. They're for us!"

Chad, they're for us because we are p-e-r-f-e-c-t together, okay? Now, if you would just receive that little fact, the whole wide world would be happy. Then we really could go on to get married and have pretty babies. We wouldn't have to pretend.

But then again, we're both actors. And here I am, playing an Oscar worthy role. I'm double-deceiving. I'm putting on a charade for the world with Chad, and putting on a fake-guise in front of Chad.

And there are only two people who really know the truth as to what's going on. Me and my Mother Loving cousin-in-law.

* * *

**Lyrics:** Blue, M; Reeves, J – _Just Friends _by Jason Reeves

**A/N:** Over the past two weeks, I've written at least 30 pages…all for my classes. I've never written so much for academic purposes in my life and it stinks. On that note, I am SO sorry for not updating in such a long time! Once I get my research papers out of the way (if it ever happens, my deadlines are October and November), things should settle down. I'd like to get this story done before that, but writing it has been murder lately. Anyway, thank you for putting up with me! And I hope that you like it. I enjoyed writing this chapter. : ) I also cannot believe that we're over 200 reviews! THANK YOU!

Side note: Go try the new toffee mocha from Starbucks – it's the bomb!

Another Side Note: Nick J is jailbait no longer! He's a _man_. And his muscles are better than Joe's. Just sayin'. (this comes from exhaustion due to writing boring things for school).

Last Side Note: If you haven't guessed it already, the title from this story comes from "Risky Business" by The Cab. The band is awesome, and Alexander DeLeon is amazing, even though he could use a haircut.

-Aly


	15. Dream

**Risky Business**

_"Let's run away and don't ever look back,_

_My heart stops when you look at me,_

_Just one touch, now baby I believe,_

_This is real, so take a chance_

_And don't ever look back"_

_-__**14**_-

* * *

_December 8, 2014_

Mother Loving Cousin-In-Law left today, along with his wife who is ready to pop, if I may say so myself. Therefore, Chad leaves today, which is…

Which really, really bugs me. First of all, I'm going to miss the goodnight kisses, the caramel macchiatos in the fridge, and the cuddling on the couch. I'm also going to miss Chad running his fingers through my hair (whilst Jill and Laketon were watching), and pulling me in for tighter hugs (yet again, Jill and Husband were witnesses).

Also, I would like everyone to take a note that a) Laketon is to be blamed for all of my depressed feelings, and b) Chad's arm muscles are really nice.

The 'b' option is just…yeah. But seriously, they are. Especially when he's having a nightmare at 2 AM and he unconsciously pulls me closer to snuggle with him. I snuggle too. I like wrapping my arms around his well defined torso and resting my head on his chest. I like the feeling of his breath on my neck. And, even though they were bothersome for the first couple of hours the first night, I grew quite fond of Chad's snores. I even lay there one night and determined that his snores come out to the tune of "We Will Rock You" by Queen. Do not ask me how I know this…but I do.

I blame Laketon.

Side note: I would like to issue a complaint about modern day writers. If their lead character isn't blaming somebody, the LC (lead character) is either eating as much chocolate as they want to (without gaining a pound), or making out with a really cute guy, trying to make the guy that they're pining for jealous. And, you see, the LC is always so freaking irresistible that she can get any guy that she wants. She either has blonde hair, really long legs, or really blue eyes.

Here's the thing. I'm placing the blame game on Laketon. I thoroughly support the blame game. But, if I eat chocolate, it goes straight to my boobs, and…if I eat too much, it goes to my butt, hips, and legs in the utmost unflattering way. Also, I do not have blonde hair, really long legs, or really blue eyes. I do not have lots of guys pining for me. That would be Chad.

Just check out 'gaysforCDC(dot)com'…The fanbase is huge. He also has lots of female fans, but why go there…(considering he's gone out with probably half of them).

If this were a _Glee_ episode, my (ideal) fantasy would be where Chad is Kurt, and I'm Brittany. Chad here attempts to kiss me and thinks that his only love is me, but then realizes that he's gay. I'd be heartbroken for a while, but then I'd move on. Because…well…just because.

But, this is real life. So, in this RL (real life) episode, Chad is grand combination of Finn and Puck, the lovely manwhores that they are. And me? I'm that extra that you see walking around carrying books, dying to go on a date with either.

Anyway.

Where were we?

Oh. Chad's going back to his place today.

This consists of Chad lounging on my couch stuffing Pop Tarts in his mouth while his best friend does his laundry.

And when I say Pop Tarts, I do mean multiple ones. He's actually gone through three boxes. If I were him, I'd be puking…Then again, Chad says the same thing about me and Lucky Charms.

Chad is currently watching _While You Were Sleeping_ whilst stuffing the Pop Tarts in his mouth. I know the feeling. You see, _While You Were Sleeping_ is ultimately the best romance film ever created. Bill Pullman is sweet to look at, and you can never, ever go wrong with Sandra Bullock. The movie just has a little bit of everything in it.

I like to sit and watch it with a box of Puffs, a couple of Milky Way bars, and a nice cup of hot white chocolate.

Yes, it is just that spectacular.

You might wonder why Chad is watching this chick flick that I've seen over eighty times…but I got him addicted to it.

Chad is not Gay Kurt. We just need to face that fact. And breathe.

Coming to this revelation at the same time Bill accuses Sandy's character of "leaning"; I sigh as I pull out a pair of Chad's boxer-briefs and fold them. Don't you just love how Chad entrusts me with this stuff?

They're blue with white polka dots. I really shouldn't care about this, I am Chad's best friend after all. I'm probably right in there, equal with Jamington and his mom who have seen his polka-dotted boxer-briefs before. But seeing them here, right now, is kind of thrilling and nervous at the same time.

Why, you wonder? Because they smell like Lavender Tide detergent and I'm ridiculously in love with my best friend…which has therefore made me insane and incapable of forming a single literate thought.

I have questions…

Such as, in _Pride & Prejudice_, why was Elizabeth able to handle falling in love so wittingly smooth? Why am I not as smooth as her?

I mean, the book was based in olden times. They probably didn't even have Gillett razors back then. Do you see what I did there? …"Smooth"

Seriously, damn you, Laketon.

Also…

Why am I attracted to Chad? Why did I fall in love with him? Why didn't I realize I liked him before I became best friends with him (because, according to Grady, that's what I did)?

And, also, why can't Chad be like Bill Pullman and fall in love with me too? I mean, I don't even have a boyfriend and he's…well, he's himself. But still, he at least needs to open his piercing blue orbs and see that Taylor Swift clearly wrote "You Belong With Me" about us.

She's going to sing it at our wedding one day.

And then:

"Sonny, why in the hell am I watching this movie? Did you pack me yet?"

In my mind, I translated this into: "You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on." (Here is where I would rush over to him, he'd sweep me up in his arms, and we'd share a passionate kiss.)

Chad is not Mr. Darcy however, so I brushed the haze out of my eyes, and threw Chad's underwear at him, while he cussed at me.

At times I wonder why I fell for Chad.

Most of the time, I don't.

An hour and a half later, Chad is packed, holding onto his duffle bag, and strutting towards the door all-so-gloriously.

He turns to remind me that we're having dinner with Joe and Natti, and then leaves.

There's no kiss on the cheek. There's no peck on the lips, and I don't even get hugged goodbye. However, I do know that I plan on taking Chad's breath away tonight.

And with this, I have to options. A) I'll wear something so stunningly sexy that he can't breathe, or B) I'll punch him in the gut.

Considering how I like wearing jeans more than anything else, it'll probably be the second option.

Ooo000ooO

Four hours after Chad leaves, I find myself in a little yellow dress. And when I say "little" I mean that I had to squeeze in my gut to get it on. It accentuates everything, rests about an inch above my knees, and makes me unable to breathe.

(Side note: As much as we love junk food and carbs, order the side salad…or you'll get thrown out of the restaurant because your dress will pop off of you.)

My hair is half pulled back in ringlets, I'm wearing smokey eye shadow, and just because I needed to be me, I painted my fingernails a sickening shade of green.

You can take the girl out of the goofy but you can't take the goofy out of the girl. Isn't there a Brooks & Dunn song about that?

No, that's "Put a Girl In It." Chad can put me in it. Or Chad can put it in me. _Crap_.

Damn you, Laketon.

After I pulled my flip-flops on (because I am oh-so classy), Chad knocked on my door right on time. I grumbled, huffed, but before I could get the door open for Chad all the way, I managed to trip over my flip-flops and start falling.

Before my chin could come-to with the ground, two arms wrapped themselves around me to stop me from falling.

_Chad_.

Mr. Darcy.

Jack aka Bill Pullman.

Prince Charming.

I sighed, then gulped, realizing Chad's arms were still around me, my knees were on the ground (as were his), my chest was pressed against his, and my hands had intertwined themselves in his hair. Sometime during my plunge, I closed my eyes, and I hadn't dared open them yet. Chad's breath was heavy against my neck…and I knew, if I opened my eyes, I'd be looking right into his.

What a flipping wonderful situation I was in. No hormones raging, lips burning, or anything like that.

"You alright, Sonny?" Was it just me, or was Chad's voice extra husky?

I still had my eyes closed as I nodded my head quickly.

It was a mistake too, because I immediately felt like I had a hangover.

"Really? Because your chin is bleeding pretty badly." Chad persisted, pulling away from me slightly. I immediately missed his closeness (i.e. his head being less than a millimeter away from mine). And then I stiffened.

Chin.

Hurt head.

Oh, that's right, Chad caught me before my chin hit the ground, but that did not mean that I didn't hit my head on the door as I was going down.

I finally got the nerve to open my eyes and say something completely and utterly meaningful. "Blaaaaaah, muh 'ed 'urts."

Way to screw up the ultra romantic moment and your one chance at bagging (totally not meant _that_ way) Chad, Sonny.

My best friend fought back a laugh as he steadied me, got to his feet, and then pulled me to my feet. Before I could get a witty sentence or something out, Chad had me in his arms again, but picked me up this time, carrying me bridal-style into my home.

As he was carrying me, I took my time studying Chad. His well defined jaw, the way his blue eyes were kind of sparkling, the little smirk that took place on his lips.

As strange as it seems, I felt like I was swooning just looking at him. Before I could make some pathetic sound to 'verbalize' my feelings over this man, I was sat down on my bathroom counter, where I could look in the mirror.

My chin was bleeding, alright. And to think I looked pretty, when I actually looked pretty pathetic.

Ugh.

Why would Chad want me?

"It's okay, Sonny," Chad leaned over and kissed my cheek before he started rifling through my medicine cabinet. "You're still beautiful."

Here's where I melted, and got a pathetic grin on my face, which made my chin hurt worse.

Ooo000ooO

Twenty-seven minutes after my bloody chin situation was taken care of, I found myself seated across from Joe and Natti Jonas,

Here's what dinner usually looks like with Joe and Natti:

Joe and Chad order cheeseburgers with bake potatoes and cokes, while Natti and I proceed to split a steak and drink sweet tea. Joe and Chad talk about football (which Chad is dumb about), baseball (which Chad knows nothing about), and golf (which I hate because it's the most boring game ever created).

Natti, in the meantime, throws perverted comments at me whenever she can and asked me what kind of hickey cover-up I use.

This draws Chad's attention and pulls a smirk on his face, whilst Joe Jonas goes on about Tim Tebow being the hottest guy on the field.

I have to agree, of course. Tim Tebow is yummy… but I'm not so sure that Joe was talking about hotness on _that_ level.

For the rest of dinner, I try to keep Natti's mind off of Chad and me, because a) It's painful, and b) It's embarrassing.

So I ask her when Dani's due (to which there is no certain date), how Nick and Shae are (they're on their second honeymoon…so I'm guessing really good), and when she and Joe plan on making a family. We breeze through all of these questions, Chad gives me a few kisses on the cheek here and there, we eat dessert, and then, finally, depart.

I don't know whether it's from nerves or because Chad picks up on the fact that I'm uptight, but we're both silent on the car ride home.

Truth be told? Watching Natti and Joe interact makes me so jealous that I can't even begin to explain it. And I know that jealousy isn't right. It's a disgusting feeling, wanting something that you can't have and all.

But…here's the thing; I'm not so sure that I_ can't_ have it. I'm just scared about confronting my feelings and talking to Chad.

I'm not so sure that Chad doesn't feel the same way about me. The way he looks at me…the way that he touches me…He can't _not_ feel anything, right?

We arrived at my door, and I watched Chad slide my key in the lock, because I was far too lazy and mopey to open the door myself.

It's not just Chad.

It's also that Christmas is right around the corner.

And every year, by December first, I'm completely wrapped up in my Christmas spirit (no pun intended).I feel this joy. These feeling of mystery, like there's something amazing right around the corner. The atmosphere's different…everything is strangely happy.

It's the eighth of December, and I haven't even felt a little bit of my beloved Christmas spirit.

Rats.

Again, I blame Laketon.

"Dinner was…interesting." I bit my lip and gave a one-shouldered shrug as my best friend tried to make conversation.

Do you ever have those moments when you just don't feel like yourself? I simply felt like I was a stranger in Sonny Munroe's body? Seriously, what was happening to me?"

"Sonny," Chad took a step towards me, looking desperate and concerned. "Please tell me what's going on, honey. You've been acting weird since you fell and hit your chin." Again, before I could melt over the fact that he called me 'honey', a whole new level of concern spread across his perfect face. "Do you think that you have a concussion? Do you want me to take you to a doctor? Do you want me to stay here tonight and keep an eye on you?"

No, no, and yes. I guiltily shook my head though, answering 'no' to all of his questions.

What's strange is that my heart was actually aching, and I didn't know why – I just knew that I hated the feeling with a passion. I nearly felt sick.

I also knew that Chad had other plans tonight. He was going to meet a new girl at some secluded club tonight. I'd heard him talking on his cell phone on the way home, and I just now put two and two together.

He had a date.

He didn't care.

And my heart was slowly but surely breaking.

Except…He did call me beautiful. He called me pet names, and touched me like he really cared. And I was just oh-so confused.

At one point or another, I must have whimpered, causing Chad to take the remaining steps towards me and engulf me in his arms.

Before I could snuggle deeper into Chad; before I could rest my head in the crook of his neck and breathe him in, he removed one of his hands from my waist, trailed it up my back, across my neck, and under my chin. Ever so slowly, his fingers gently tilted my chin back to where I was looking him in the eye.

Chad was biting his lip, looking uncertain, until I nodded my head slowly, feeling my eyes begin to flutter closed.

By the time Chad's lips brushed against mine, I could feel my heart and mind beginning to scream. As soon as his lips were on my own, they were off, and Chad pulled back for a second, giving me a look that I'd never seen before. All I knew though, was that I couldn't let him walk away. I couldn't let him not kiss me.

I ran my hands up his chest, grabbed his collar, and pulled him towards me. Both of Chad's hands moved to my neck, then my hair, then my waist, as he cracked a small smile before letting his lips find mine again. And this time, they moved against mine with ease. His kisses were slow and passionate at first. But then they became fiercer, breathier, even more passionate.

At certain intervals, he'd move his lips from mine to trail them along my cheek, across my neck…and his hands would not stay in one place, they were everywhere. I was matching each of his movements in my own way, surprising him when I kissed the skin beneath his earlobe; tickling him when I planted kisses across his neck.

There wasn't any declaration of our feelings for each other; in fact, no words were spoken. I have no idea how long our kiss lasted, whether it was many minutes or hours, but I knew that it went on for a while.

When we broke apart for the final time, chests heaving, attempting to catch our breaths, Chad took my hands in his and pulled me close to him, hugging me like he'd never hugged me before. Every time that I dared to look him in the eyes, there was always a look on his face that I'd never seen before.

And never before had I ever seen him look better. I wanted to memorize the way he looked after our first real kiss.

His black button up shirt was wrinkled, his hair was sticking up all over the place, his cheeks were red; eyes sparkling and wide, and his mouth curved up in a wonderful closed-mouth smile.

With a pathetic bandage on my chin, I didn't even want to think about how badly I looked. I didn't even matter even more.

What mattered was that Chad had kissed me. Without an audience. Without having to put on a charade for everybody.

The kiss was completely, painstakingly real…And, I wondered if I'd ever find out what it meant.

* * *

**Lyrics**: Gottwald, L; Levin, B; Martin, M; Mckee, B; Perry, K – _Teenage Dream _by Katy Perry

**A/N**: If you can take a moment to imagine Nick J's crackly voice in "Sorry" …that's how I feel for not updating in so long! I'd give you my reasons (.evil), but I'll refrain. I hope that the ending of this chapter paid for your long wait, though! They kissed…for real, this time. Yaysies!

And so, if any of you are still reading this, THANK YOU so much! And I would love to hear your thoughts.

-Aly


	16. Later and Now

**Risky Business**

_"But his dark eyes dared me with danger,_

_And sparks fly like flame to a paper,_

_Fire in his touch burned me up,_

_But still I held on,_

_I was already gone"_

-_**15**_-

* * *

_December 9, 2014_

I woke up with a smile on my face. And…shockingly, I didn't wake up alone. Arms were wound tightly around my torso. My back was placed firmly against Chad's chest, he had one of his legs in between mine, the other on top; his head was resting in the crook of my neck, his light breath on my collarbone.

Altogether, I was more comfortable than I had been in a ridiculously long time. I didn't feel guilty, scared, or sad – I just felt light. I felt happy and secure.

I felt free.

And that Christmassy feeling had finally come and captured me.

I wanted to turn around and burry my face in Chad's chest, but he was sleeping so soundly, so peacefully, that the thought of waking him up nearly pained me. And Chad is beautiful when he sleeps, I might add.

I could be all tacky like Bella from Twilight and start describing Chad skin, muscles, and the contours of his…everything, but I'll refrain.

So, liking the snug-as-a-bug Christmassy feeling, I brought the comforter up to my chin and somehow got buried deeper into everything. With the Christmas spirit came the feeling of winter, which means that, even though this is California, I felt cold. I was suddenly grateful for the cute green-checkered pajamas I had picked up from Target during one of my shopping trips with Jill. I know, the one time that we did not go to Victoria's Secret. Shocker.

After we kissed, I felt blissful, but still unsure, almost insecure, but still, mostly, giddy. Chad and I proceeded to stand in my family room, staring at one-another, embracing one another. Not saying anything. The only thing that Chad asked me was if he could stay.

Considering that, by the time he asked me this, it was three am, I agreed – not willing to let him go; not wanting to.

It wasn't that Chad needed to stay here. He was a grown man, he could get to his house safely at any hour of the day or night. Chad wanted to stay with me, and that made me utterly happy.

Without saying another word, I wandered off to get a shower and change into pajamas. By the time that I got to bed, Chad was in his sweats and a white V-neck that he kept at my house, already in bed. His eyes were closed, but by the way he was breathing, I could tell that he wasn't asleep. He was just giving me my moments of privacy – also getting out of the conversation that I knew we needed to have.

Heat flooding my cheeks, I crawled into bed beside him, and when I got comfortable, he wrapped his arms around me.

Truth be told, I didn't mind in the least.

I blocked out Shae's warning from my birthday night, I blocked out my conversation with Laketon on how I was killing myself by harboring feelings for Chad.

I didn't want to think about those things. I didn't want to dwell on them. I just wanted to remain in the here and now; and in the here and now, Chad's arms were comfortably around me, and I was blissful.

I didn't need to know what he felt, and I didn't want to admit what I felt. Sure…maybe I was scared of rejection; but most of all, I just didn't want to move.

With all of that being said, I felt Chad's breathing convert to another rhythm, and I heard him sigh.

For a split second, I thought about putting on my very own charade and pretend that I was asleep – but I refrained as Chad's arms gripped me tighter. I smiled to myself, almost smug.

Smug, at what, I'm not sure. Maybe Laketon and his lecture…but still!

"Morning," For a split second, one of Chad's arms were no longer around me; he was brushing my hair away from my neck. After a second, I understood the reason why, he placed a kiss on the back of my neck.

I didn't mind. Not in the least.

"G'morning," I sighed happily…happy that Chad was still willing to kiss me the morning after.

"Want some Starbucks?" His voice was hoarse, and, unbearingly (and strangely) sexy. I mean…did he even have to ask?

Chad's arms loosened around me and tightened again as I rolled over so I could look at him. I grinned at the way he looked, and slightly panicked over how I probably looked, but, oh well.

"So that's a yes." If possible, Chad hugged me tighter to him, as I nodded into his shoulder.

I was so happy, so excited, yet so unsure. Because, deep down, I knew that we were both avoiding what we needed to be doing. We were avoiding The Talk.

Ooo000ooO

I sipped my white chocolate mocha contentedly as I walked hand-in-hand with Chad through the park. It was a beautiful, yet somewhat chilly day, yet, I didn't feel that, since Chad and I had kissed, I needed to dress up to impress him.

Therefore, I was wearing jeans and a Colts sweatshirt. Chad, on the other hand, was also wearing jeans and a black sweater. Always more dressed up then me; but Chad is not Kurt.

The atmosphere around us was calm. We were calm. It was like everything was strangely peaceful. I didn't know whether this was good or bad, but, considering Chad was holding my hand (and, I was pretty positive that it wasn't just for show), I aimed for the fact that it was good.

That was, until, the white chocolate mocha that seemed lukewarm before had to go and burn my tongue.

Bitch White Chocolate Mocha.

Bitch Blonde Starbucks Waitress Crushing on Chad.

(Side note: I feel the need to capitalize things that I have dubbed as "bitch.")

Chad must've caught me scowling because he laughed. I was a little taken aback, because this was the only thing that he had done…with sound, since this morning when he told me he'd pick me up after he went back to his house to change.

(Side note: ever since Chad and I've kissed, we've been ridiculously quiet around each other – if you haven't picked up on that already.)

"White mocha got your tongue, Sonny?" His tone was playful, and I felt like whacking him.

"No," I pursed my lips, lying horribly. "Well, kind of."

"Then why'd you get something warm?" (This would be coming from the man who ordered a strawberry frap on a California-cold day.)

"Because I'm not warm blooded like you."

"But…" This time, Chad looked confused. Chad Dylan Cooper…the one who flunked out of Biology twice.

"Ever heard of the term 'cold blooded killer' Chad?" He looked at me pointedly.

"Are you," Chad coughed, "trying to hint at something, Sonny?" He gave me a mock-frightened look, causing me to laugh.

"No. You know that humans…"

"I know."

"And mammals…"

"I know."

"And the other animals…"

"I know. Sonny," Chad elbowed me in the side, "I may be blond, but I'm-"

"How do you drown a blond, Chad?" I bit my lip while he rolled his eyes.

"Stephenie Meyer, Sonny? Really?"

"To be fair, I'm quoting Jake." At this, as if God wanted to prank me somehow, from somewhere in the park, we heard a dog howl.

This caused Chad and me to jump a foot, only to bump against the other, and cause our drinks to spill all over this.

Either God was pranking us, or He was getting sick of Chad and I dancing around our kiss, and He wanted us to go home, change, and talk about it.

Blegh.

Ooo000ooO

_I could get used to this._

Why?

_Because I'm in love with him._

Does he know? Does he feel the same way?

_No…I don't know._

As Chad's hands ran along my back, stopping when they got to my hips, I bit back a frown. What was this?

Was it God who was nudging-slash-arguing with me for making out with Chad, or was it my conscious. Either way, I didn't know, nor did I care. Chad's kisses were too good – nearly intoxicating; and, yet again, I was completely content with blocking out any thoughts other than the fact that I liked Chad's lips (and his hands, and his scent, the way he held me, and the way he said my name).

It was all so unfair. Because, Chad didn't know. Neither did I.

Chad wasn't holding back anymore. He was gentle, but he was also aggressive. It was like he didn't take a breath. If his lips weren't attacking mine, they were moving across my neck; my collarbone, my cheeks, and my forehead. If his hands weren't on my back, they were in my hair, on my cheeks, trailing down my sides. At one point, Chad grabbed the back of my thighs, surprising the life out of me…not that I minded. His intentions were rather pure. He wanted to lift me up and carry me to the couch, so we could be more comfortable. I complied, throwing my arms around his shoulders, and wrapping my legs around him.

And me? I liked placing my hands under his shirt, so I could rub them against his stomach. For some reason, being able to touch him…at his core, made me feel safe. Also, he was well toned…so, all the more benefits, the better.

Once we'd gotten to my apartment, I ran into my room to change. Chad had his stash of clothes in the guestroom, strangely enough, so he changed in there. Coincidentally, we walked out of the bedrooms at the same time. We met in the middle of the family room, and started kissing.

And after two and a half hours, we hadn't really stopped. Except, things were slowing down. Not that I was tired. I could never get tired of Chad.

I just hoped he wouldn't get tired of me either.

But, I knew that it had to end eventually. I knew that I was being nudged. I knew that I needed to talk to Chad.

He's not just anybody.

He's not just a random guy that I've gone on a few dates with, or a boyfriend. He's my best friend. He's been my best friend for years.

And here we were, kissing.

"Chad," I finally pulled away from the kiss, placing my hands on his chest. He seemed to get the hint, and pulled back a little…only keeping his mouth inches away from mine.

"We need to…"

"I know."

"But-"

"I know."

"And-"

"It's okay."

(Translation: We needed to talk, and he knew; but I didn't want to talk, because then we'd have to face reality…And this plan, this charade that we were putting on for everybody else would eventually come back to bite us in the ass. And I was scared, and Chad knew this, and he lied saying that it was okay, only to make me feel better.)

See how best friends work? See how Chad and I know what's going on in each other's minds without saying anything out loud?

We both knew that we needed to talk, but we didn't. Instead, Chad rested his forehead against mind, planted a kiss on it, and pulled me onto his lap so he could hold me.

Discussions could come later; I just wanted to embrace life as it was for now.

* * *

**Lyrics:** Bush, K; Nettles, J; Pinson, B – _Already Gone_ by Sugarland

**A/N**: Can I just take the time to say how much I love my readers? Because I do. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the fact that you read this story! And as for the chapter…what do you think of Chad? Is he scared to verbalize his feelings for Sonny? Is he scared of rejection? After all, he doesn't have a problem with the physical things. ((wink)).


	17. Situation

**Risky Business**

_**" **Well you drive me crazy half the time,_

_The other half I'm only trying_

_To let you know that what I feel is true"_

-_**16**_-

* * *

_December 18, 2014_

We hadn't talked.

Okay, well, scratch that, we've been talking. Everyday. Chad's been sleeping on my couch every night. But we haven't talked about our Situation.

I call it Situation (not to be confused with the weirdo from that Jersey show), because I really don't know what else to call it.

Chad and I shared these amazing, mind-blowing kisses – but I had absolutely no idea as to what they meant. And, obviously, neither did Chad.

But they meant something.

From the looks that he gives me when I attempt to bring it up, I knew that they had some kind of effect on him.

But Chad's chosen to go back to our old ways (talking about the glory of puke bags and why some call soda 'pop' and all). Every morning when I wake up, he gives me a peck on the cheek, and, at night before I go to bed, he pecks me on the lips. But besides that? Nothing.

Incase you're wondering, though, our charade is still going strong. Everyone believes that we're still madly in love and all of that other wonderful stuff.

In the past five days, we've been to eight different Christmas parties – and last night, Chad surprised me with one at my apartment.

Not that I have anything against Christmas colors, but I've never seen so much red, green, gold, and silver.

Also? Chad sleeps in Rudolph pajamas. I just needed to get that out there.

But where were we?

Oh. Right. Me, standing in my kitchen, drooling over the leftover chocolate cupcakes from the party last night. Chad went out a little bit ago to purchase Starbucks (again, I'm in love with him, so…)…leaving me alone.

And that's when I saw it.

I wasn't the only one staring longingly at the cupcakes.

Up on the shelf where I keep my Oreos, Twix, and Chips Ahoy stashed, a little critter with beady black eyes was staring at the cupcakes too.

I screamed.

And then…threw a cupcake at the rat.

Ooo000ooO

"Christmas is almost here!" This came from the little critter prancing around my feet, dancing and jumping up and down. Never had I ever seen anyone so happy in my life. Only Aubree.

I knelt down to her level, offering her my biggest smile, "Are you excited to see Santa?"

Or, the Santa at the mall. And I also talked Chad into getting a rental to surprise his niece (because I'm good like that).

Instead of jumping up and down with more elation, Aubree just tilted her head and pursed her lips. "Santa's cool and all, Auntie Sonny, but Jesus' birthday is the real celebration here."

Heat crawled into my cheeks as I eyed the pint-sized girl. My eyes then flickered to her parents with smirks on their faces.

Then I looked at Chad, who still managed to have a hold of my hand, who was smiling goofily at his niece.

I would be too, if I hadn't been the one talking to a child in a childish way.

Oh, well.

"So are your suitcases in the car?" I smiled at nodded towards Jason, and glared at Chad so he'd go help his brother-in-law.

Excitingly enough, after I had WWIII with the rat this morning, I called Chad, screaming. He was already planning on going to stay with Jamie and Jason until Christmas, and I had an opened invitation, so they just recommended that I come over early.

Let me tell you something about rats…they're downright terrifying. And they also stink. Just saying. And…they really, really like cupcakes.

Besides all of this, Aubree was also elated over the fact that I was here because we'd get to have "slumber parties" together.

I get to stay in her room.

Then again, anything is better than staying with rats.

"Auntie Sonny, how exciting is it that we get to bake? And Mommy's been craving chocolate so she said we can use lots of chocolate chips in the cookies!" This was all said as Aubree's little hand wound its way around my own and she proceeded to drag me into the kitchen.

That's when I stopped in my tracks.

Jamie had about three bags of chocolate chips on the counter. There were also three packages of Oreos, and two boxes of Twix candy bars.

I've heard Elvis Presley sing, I've seen a picture of Chris Pine shirtless, and I've kissed Chad Dylan Cooper. Sadly, none of these things made drool come into my mouth as quickly as seeing all of that chocolate did.

Self control, Sonny – _get some_.

"Chocolate got your tongue?" Two hands were gripping my shoulders and Chad's warm breath against my cheek sent a shiver down my spine. I was momentarily grateful that Aubree was helping herself to an Oreo – so she didn't have to see how unglued I was quickly becoming.

"Mmmm-hmmm." Because, clearly, I was incapable of forming a semi-decent answer.

"Sonny," Chad's warm breath was nearly killing me, "you're kind of drooling, y'know?"

Way to ruin the moment Chad.

As quick as they appeared, Chad's hands were off of me, and he walked over to the chocolate. Ever so slowly (and with a smirk), Chad picked up the package of Oreos. And yes…I felt a little drool dribble onto my chin.

He then peeled back the cover, reached his hand into the little crate, and took out an Oreo. After that, he decided it would be fun to walk at .0000000000001 miles per hour towards me, whilst twirling the cookie in his hands.

In all honesty, if Aubree hadn't been watching with an adamant fascination, I would've kicked Chad down, stolen the cookie, and run.

"Oh for the love of Justin Bieber's Baby, just give me the damn cookie!"

Self control. I'm such an expert on it.

Two seconds later, I had devoured the cookie, causing Chad to mop up the crumbs on my neck and chin with the palm of his hand.

Here's the thing, I just don't understand why Chad hasn't confessed his love for me already. I mean, isn't it every guys dream to find a girl who can pack away food?

No? Just a myth?

Hmmm…

"Was the cookie good, Sonny?" Chad was looking at me, mouth still turned up in a smirk, eyes dancing.

"That really, really wasn't your best pick up line, Cooper."

Ooo000ooO

_December 19, 2014_

My fans are the greatest. I'd just like to get that out there.

However…For some odd reason, they think that I'm able to do anything and everything. And, with that statement, I found out this morning from my manager that a petition had been set that I go to the Movie Stars on Ice Christmas party.

It had three million signatures.

Here's the thing… I have absolutely no idea how to ice skate. Don't get me wrong, I've tried ice skating before. The first time, my mother rented one of those ice-walkers that helped hold me up. The time after that, I broke my ankle (in four places…How, I have no idea.).

See? I can't skate.

And Chad… Chad was enjoying my misery over this skating thing way too much.

"It's okay Sonny, I'll teach you." (This came in between bouts of Chad's laughter.)

I know what you're thinking. Boy tells girl that he'll teach her to skate. Boy and girl will go to skating rink, and girl will trip a little, but the boy will catch her. Then, as the boy is holding the girl in his arms, they'll share a moment, looking into each other's eyes, and kiss. Then, some romantic song like… "Alejandro" by Lady Gaga will come on and boy and girl will skate around the rink daydreaming about what cute kids they'll have.

I just settled for laughing in Chad's face.

You see, I've already kissed him (more than once), and Lady Gaga has no idea what a romantic song means.

And if Chad Dylan Cooper thinks that he's going to teach me how to ice skate, he's sadly mistaken. I'd rather slow dance with the rat from my kitchen than have to have two feet plastered against horrible, slippery ice.

"Chad, -I"

"You have to learn, Sonny." I narrowed my eyes at Chad. "Didn't you sign some sort of contract with your management team agreeing to do whatever publicity stunts that they needed you to do?"

Oh, what would that be, Chad? Finally coming out in public with you and saying that we're together and in love? Wait. Nope. That was our idea that we agreed to verbally…and it's messed with my feelings, made me question our friendship, and…

I completely and utterly in love with you. Why won't you tell me that you feel the same way?

But…

Where were we?

Contract. Right. Crap.

"Um…"

"Yep." Chad snickered (not to be confused with Snickers Bar, which sounds devastatingly good, right at this moment). "I'll teach you how to skate."

* * *

** Lyrics:** Orral, RE; Angelo; Swift, T -_ I'm Only Me When I'm With You_ by Taylor Swift

**A/N: **Okay, for this short chapter...I just want to say how sweet all of you are! Thank you so much for reading it! And I hope that you liked the chapter.


	18. It's Not Just Me

**Risky Business**

_"Tell me that you live for love_

_That forever is never enough_

_That you waited all your life to see,_

_That you want to badly to believe,_

_Tell me that it's not just me."_

-_**17**_-

_December 23, 2014_

Teaching me how to skate apparently meant Chad getting me on the ice, having me stand on the ice for a second, then skating around me in circles singing Prince… then backing away three feet and telling me to come to him, like I was a baby learning how to walk.

I huffed and puffed and knew that Chad had challenged me, and that I had to at least _try_.

_Try_ being the operative word.

Three days after Chad's lesson, I find myself sprawled out on Aubree's bed (Aubree eating popcorn in my lap), with my left foot elevated on a pile of pillows, ice wrapped around it.

For some odd, inexplicable reason, I didn't have to go to the Christmas-Ice party, or whatever it was called.

I mean, it must have nothing to do with the fact that, when Chad beckoned me, I made the mistake of lifting my right foot off the ground, letting my left one skid, and then…somehow, break in three different places.

You know what Chad said after I fell, and starting tearing up because of the pain?

"You really can't skate, Sonny." (He laughed.)

You know what I said?

"No shit, Sherlock."

Of course, I had to be the one to break something to prove it to him. What are best friends (that kiss each other sometimes) for anyway?

"Is it feeling any better?" This comes from the pain-in-my-foot (foot pones ass…because it's literal) best friend who walked into the room with a sad look on his face, grabbed a handful of his niece's popcorn, and sat on the edge of her bed. I just scowled at him.

"I'm really sorry, Sonny." Aubree's looking between Chad and I like a deer caught in head lights, and, quite truthfully, a little peeved. I'm pretty peeved too. Besides my ultra-bitter thoughts towards Pain-In-Foot-Cooper, he's also interrupting _Finding Nemo_. And, of course, because Pain-In-Foot-Cooper has brilliant timing, he had to interrupt the part where Dory sings "Just Keep Swimming". It's the best part in the movie.

Damn him.

"Uncle Chad, you're interrupting Dory's song." Brilliant kid. I thought about squeezing her, but that might make her choke on the popcorn she just stuffed down.

"Once again," Chad said, not taking his eyes off of me, "I'm sorry." He looked like he was about to cry.

"Kissing her might make it better." Aubree. Not so brilliant.

Before I could glare at the kid, Chad placed his fingertips under my chin, drew my lips softly to his, kissed them, and drew back.

Not before whispering in my ear that he loved me.

And then he walked out of Aubree's room.

Damn him.

Ooo000ooO

_December 24, 2014_

He whispered that he loved me.

Cool. Kewl. Coolerooo.

Chad's told me that he's loved me before. In fact, he's said it plenty of times. In his texts, it's always, 'I less than three you' (all typed out, because he's Chad), or when we're done talking on the phone, it's 'I love ya'. Or…more often than not, when I've set him up with extras from a movie that I've been working on, it's: 'I love you soooooo much, Sonbeam! You're a pal!' – Which always gets me ecstatic. Not.

But, you see, my problem is that he's never whispered the words _I. Love. You_ before. And before, when he was throwing those three words at me, we weren't on our little "deal". We weren't plastering on a big charade in front of every single person that we knew, and we also hadn't kissed, or _really_ cuddled, or kissed some more.

And Chad never had tears in his eyes before.

And Chad never had told me that after kissing me lightly…beautifully.

In the midst of my thoughts, I decided that I needed to groan loudly (out of frustration, because of Chad), roll over, and bury my head in my pillow. However, I had a small dilemma.

It's safe to say that bed pigs run in the family.

Aubree's legs were securely wrapped around my torso, her small chest on mine, her little head in the crook of my neck, and her hands on the sides of my face.

Also…she was still amazing. So how in the hell she'd ever gotten into this position, I didn't want to know. But I also knew that her husband would need to be one who liked to spoon. And if he was a cuddler, he'd be a very happy man.

Eww.

I cringed, my thoughts momentarily escaping Chad (and his lips, and those three words), and focusing on Aubree getting married.

Now, she'd be getting married in her forties, which would mean that I'd be…ewww. But hopefully I'd be married to Chad, or a Chad lookalike, with a few babies of our own.

I sighed, squirming a little so I could reach my phone on Aubree's nightstand to see if I had any texts.

- _Text: From CDC (12:00 am)_ –

Happy Christmas Eve! I'd come in and wake you, but ur 2 pretty wen u sleep.

_-Text from Jill_ (8:45 am) –

Hey cus! Wear the red lacy thong with the red lacy corset for Chad 2nite! It's Christmas Eve after all.

Chad's text made me blush and smile. Jill's made me cringe, look down at Aubree to make sure she wasn't up, and then shudder.

What a lovely family I have. Happy Christmas Eve, indeed.

And...since when did I own a red lacy corset, nonetheless a thong? I mean…seriously, built in wedgies?

But, oh, right – all perverted things are possible with Jill.

And now…now I just had to get Aubree off of me so I could go through with this Christmas Eve/ Christmas deal and try to avoid Chad.

Avoiding Chad didn't work out too well. It never does.

I managed to get Aubree off of me, and then the second that I walked into the kitchen (in pajamas nonetheless), Chad greeted me with a Starbucks mug and a plate of chocolate chip pancakes, smothered in chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

I was fixing to tell him how deeply in love with him I was, but then I thought the better of it.

"So, Sonny, I guess it's just you and me today." I looked from my pancakes, to my Starbucks cup, to Chad, and then back at the pancakes. Huh?

I looked from the pancakes to Chad again, and shivered, noticing how painstakingly close to me he was standing.

Then again, I shouldn't have been shocked. We've kissed before. But still.

"Huh?" Moving away from Chad, I plopped down on one of the barstools by the counter, sat my plate of pancakes in front of me, and finally took a sip of my Starbucks. _Toffee mocha_. I sighed happily.

"After Aubree wakes up, Jamie and Jase are taking her to Disneyland. They probably won't be back until ten or eleven. Do you have anything in mind?"

Disneyland? On Christmas Eve?

I glanced at Chad who was staring at me, waiting for an answer. Disneyland on Christmas Eve…Something was not adding up.

"Why are they going to Disneyland on Christmas Eve opposed to all of the other days of the year that they could've gone?" Chad rolled his eyes, apparently expecting this.

"Why not?" He shrugged, walked up behind me, and placed his hands on my shoulders. "And since you have nothing in mind for the day, I know exactly what we're going to do." His voice carried a happy tone to it, and I took another swig of my toffee coffee. Before I could swallow though, Chad brushed my hair to the side, placing a kiss on the back of my neck, nearly making me choke.

Chad had a plan…and I wasn't so sure if I wanted to find out what it was.

Three hours later, with Jamie, Jason, Aubree, and future-kid out of the house, I found myself on the middle of a nature trail with Chad. In a wheel chair. Because apparently he thought that it would be educational and interesting…my ass.

I would've rather stayed at home and watched "The Elf" or "A Christmas Story" - something with substance. Not a flipping trail with literally no wild life except for bugs (that bite) on Christmas Eve.

I was going to kill him.

That was, you know, after he pushed me the five miles back to the house and all.

"Chad, can we-" I stopped from saying another word, seeing as how he was sending yet another text message.

Ever since he pushed me out to this crap-load of a place, he's been texting. Probably to some girl that he has yet to tell me about. With that thought, my heart gave a little tug of jealousy.

But seriously, he hasn't even spoken to me since he stopped pushing me. And it's been _hours_.

"Sure, Sonny." And just like that, I was being pushed back to the house, the wind nipping at my face, and my left foot and leg aching miserably.

"So, Sonny, you're hair looks nice today." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. What the hell kind of conversation starter was that between two best friends?

But from the beginning, I knew. I knew that this whole fake-dating thing would be a mistake. That everything would always be awkward between us. That nothing would ever be the same again.

I was head over heels in love with him. But to Chad, it didn't matter.

I was going to die alone. I was going to-

"We're here," Bitch Best Friend interrupted my thought process (and silent treatment), by lifting me out of my chair, walking up the steps to the house, opening the door, not bothering to put me down as he continued to walk ever so slowly throughout the house, heading in the direction of the family room.

I sensed that something was off. First off, I could smell the fireplace. And then when Chad brought me into the family room, my eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat.

The fireplace was lit, and so were about two dozen other candles surrounding the couch. There were chocolate covered strawberries and mugs of – what seemed to be – hot chocolate spread across the coffee table.

I shifted in Chad's arms so I could look at him. He was smiling, and he had a look in his eyes that I'd never seen before.

"You're heavy." Chad quit smiling long enough to open his ugly mouth (with ridiculously beautiful lips, and perfect teeth, and a wonderful breath), and plop me down on the couch, taking a seat next to me.

Gee, thanks. How romantic.

"What did they do, set this up thinking that we needed some time alone together because they still think that we're faking it?" I was rambling because my heart was racing and my palms were sweating, and Chad's eyes were dancing as he looked at me, and started leaning closer.

"No Sonny," Chad shook his head, "I asked Jamie and Jason to do this."

Heart. In. Throat.

I gulped.

"Mwahuh?" Honestly, I should be a professional poem-writer, or whatever they call it. Poetic? Poemetic? Poet? _Oh_. Duh. I am losing it.

"Sonny," The mere way that he said my name chills through me, "there's something that I've wanted to tell you for a while now. And I think that you know. And I think I gave you some hints when I kissed you when we weren't putting on a show for people. I think that I-"

Chad decided to stop long enough so that he could take my hands in his, and I silently prayed that he couldn't hear my heart hammering.

"I don't want to put on a show for people anymore." And enter my heart breaking now. I could immediately feel tears spring into my eyes. I wanted to brush them away with my hands, but Chad was still holding my hands, and I didn't want him to have to let go yet.

But course he didn't want to put on a show anymore. He probably had a new girlfriend who he really was in love with, and he had Jamie and Jason light the fireplace and sit out chocolate covered strawberries to make me feel better.

"I know I've said this a million times before, but I want to make this real Sonny. Completely real." My heart was having a seizure of its own, because it was utterly confused. Speeding up, slowing down, stopping altogether, and then racing again.

"You're my best friend, Sonbeam. And I know it's probably breaking some unwritten rule; I know you probably don't feel the same way too, but I've fallen for you. I'm completely, utterly, undeniably in love with you."

_Crap._

_00000_

**Lyrics:** Hummon, M; Demarcus, J – _It's Not Just Me _by Rascal Flatts

**A/N**: So…a lot of you wanted some kind of action. Was this chapter okay? :D I really hoped that you liked it! Finally, Chad told her!

And once again, I want to thank all of you for reading and reviewing this!

Also…I don't normally call out issues, but I received a review that said "this story would be so much better if you didn't keep trying to shove your  
religion and beliefs down our throats once every chapter." On that note, I do add a little Christianity in because I write about what I know and love, and if I do become a professional writer, it would be my dream to write Christian fiction. I understand this is fan fiction, but I also understand that all people have their beliefs – and why not let fictional characters have theirs as well? And since no one else has commented on it, I'm guessing that you don't think I'm "shoving it down your throat". On that note, if you do feel that way, I am truly sorry. For myself, I know that there is going to be at least one thing about something that I don't really care for, but I see past that and enjoy it anyways…And I hope that you do to with this story. It's a Chad/Sonny romance (where Sonny is heavily sarcastic), and I hope that is why you read it. I try to make my characters seem as real as possible. I also realize that this anonymous reviewer "Truth" was just hoping to upset me…But he/she just succeeded in making me appreciate you sweet readers even more. And I'd sing some Enrique and Uncle Kracker to you…but you get my gist. :)

I really hope that you liked the chapter! Chad finally grew a pair! Rejoice!

-Aly

PS. Have an awesome Halloween. I'd love to hear what you went as!


	19. Best

**Risky Business**

_"I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night,_

_I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're 'bout to cry,_

_...Think I know where you belong, think I know it's with me"_

-_**18**_-

* * *

_December 24, 2014_

He was in love with me. Not only that, he was _completely and undeniably_ in love with me. I mean…when?

And how?

I'd been lusting after him long enough, when did his feelings start?

"Sonny?" I somehow forced my open mouth closed, and looked at him. Instead of his light smile, a frown was now plastered across his face, and he was gently massaging my shoulders.

I knew that I should've said something, but I was panicking. I needed to make a list. I needed to make one of why I shouldn't be with Chad.

I mean a) he's my best friend, and b) we're putting on a charade for people, and c) he's my best friend. Did I mention that he's my best friend?

I mean, excluding all Taylor Swift songs, do besties really fall for each other? Isn't that just some made up myth?

And sure, there's Ross and Rachel, Chandler and Monica, Harry and Sally, and a few other names that I'm leaving out – but they're all fictional characters. Not real. And-

"You're panicking, Sonny." Chad's blue eyes were warm, and his voice smooth and melodic, bringing me back to reality. And in reality, I was completely, utterly, and undeniably in love with him too.

So I knew just what I had to do. I needed to tell him. Except instead of speaking, my eyes darted to his lips, back to his eyes, and back to his lips again. Slowly, Chad started leaning in, and I closed my eyes, our lips finally coming together. I felt Chad stiffen for a moment, and then let out a sigh and relax. Our kiss was slow and soft, yet filled with so much passion. My hands moved from my sides, up to his neck and his hair. I let my fingers run through it, enjoying the feeling. Chad took his hands off my shoulders, placing them on my waist, so he could move me closer.

Our kiss lasted for a few more minutes, and when we finally pulled away, I crawled into his lap and pressed my ear against his chest, listening to his racing heart.

Sure, we had kissed before. But this was different. He loved me. He was in love with me.

"I'm in love with you, Chad." I whispered into his chest, and Chad started rubbing the small of my back.

"I'm so glad, Sonbeam. I'm so happy."

Ooo000ooO

_December 25, 2014_

"It's Christmas!" You'd think it would have been the little person with red curls jumping on the bed, waking me up on Christmas morning. Instead, it was my boyfriend.

I smiled. I liked the sound of that.

"Hi, Chad," My boyfriend flopped down, leaned over, and pecked me on the lips, causing me to smile. "I have horrible morning breath, don't."

"Nah, sweetie, you're breath always smells minty fresh." I grinned, and then buried my face in my pillow, my cheeks flushing with heat.

"I love you, Sonbeam." I couldn't get tired of that, either.

"Love you too, Chad." He shifted to where he was lying down next to me, and pulled the blanket over himself too. In the meantime, I snuggled closer to him, not quite ready to get up yet.

"Aubree woke Jase and Jamie bright and early this morning, and made them get up with her so she could open all of her presents. They're at the homeless shelter, volunteering right now." I smiled yet again. Whilst Jill was probably ogling over her Victoria's Secret presents (for after the baby gets out of her), Chad's family was out serving the homeless.

Chad's family…Jason and Jamie.

Here's the thing. Last night, after Chad and I confessed our love for each other, he explained to me that he'd told his sister and brother in law everything. Every little thing. Our whole charade, every single lie, everything.

He also told them that he was in love with me, and he wanted to make our charade a charade no more, so Jamie and Jason agreed to do the whole fireplace, chocolate covered strawberries (which were delicious, by the way) romantic setup.

It worked.

My boyfriend is the bombdiggity, and I'm his bomb…bombshell? Nah. I'm his Sonbeam.

I grinned, unwrapped myself from Chad, and rolled out of bed. I had a present for Chad, but first I wanted to make coffee and get dressed.

After some persuading, I got Chad to leave the room so I could have a little privacy. When I was on the way to the bathroom, clothes in hand, my cell phone rang.

I frowned. If it was a family member wanting to wish me a Merry Christmas, they would've texted. So, in that case, it was probably my agent. Which was weird, considering the holiday, but still, I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Good! Sonny Munroe," Mara Gomez, my agent, rattled off, not even bothering to acknowledge the best holiday in the world. "did you forget about that lead role, or what the hell?"

Right to the point, Mara. I cringed inwardly. What lead role?

"Um-"

"Hell, you forgot." Over the years, I've noticed that 'hell' is Mara's favorite word. "The lead role that I told you about. The romantic comedy that you will film in Paris, starring opposite Zac Efron. Did you forget the hell all about it? Hell, Sonny. _Hell_."

I get the point Mara. _Hell_.

And _that_ lead role. In the midst of putting on my charade I'd forgotten all about it. I was offered it months ago, long before Chad's birthday, long before we came up with this whole plan. And I'd wanted to accept, I was more than willing, but I just…completely forgot.

But the movie was truly an amazing opportunity. And with no ties, I could hardly turn it down.

That was then. Now, I had Chad.

"Um, Mara, I-"

"Sonny, you'll start filming the day after Valentine's Day, which means you'll need to arrive in Paris the day before the hell of a holiday. Do you hear? And I've already signed you up. Bye."

…And just when I thought that it was going to be the best Christmas ever, it was going to be…_hell_.

A few hours later, Jason, Jamie, and Aubree were back at home, Chad's arm was wrapped around my shoulders as he told them about how we were finally together, and I still hadn't told Chad about the Paris thing.

In truth, I was trying to shove it all the way to the back of my mind. I just wanted to savor this Christmas, enjoy the fact that Chad and I would now have cute little redheaded kids together, and forget about Mara.

"Mama, can we bake Jesus His birthday cake yet? When I was praying, He told me that He wanted me to eat some for Him!" I gawked at the tike in my lap, who had somehow wedged herself between Chad and me, wanting to cuddle with her now-honest uncle and aunt.

Seriously though…where do kids get stuff like this? I mean, I totally respect the fact that she wants some cake, but honestly, her excuse was pretty damn brilliant.

But then again, God is a good God, so He probably did tell Aubree to nag her mother. Which is, in truth, awesome. Just saying.

"Actually dear, I was going to let you bake it with your Aunt Sonny and Uncle Chad. But they'll need you to supervise. Can you do that?" I glared at Jamie, while she smirked with me. _She would_.

"Want to go outside with me, Sonny?" An hour and a half later, and after Chad and I were done with brushing flour off of us (Jamie was still wiping red and green icing off her daughter), I found myself hand in hand with Chad, sitting on the couch.

"Sure. As long as we don't go to that stupid nature trail." Mother Loving cousin-in-law probably would've loved it and all, but still. Ick.

"Sonny," Chad groaned, "I just want to push you down the street to that little gazebo. It looks inviting."

Did you hear that? Chad wanted to _push_ me. What a risky little bastard of a boyfriend he was turning out to be. Kidding.

I grinned, nodding my head.

Chad scooped me up bridal style, and carried me outside to my waiting wheel chair. I wanted to walk…or hop on one foot…but Chad wouldn't let me. Why? Because he's a control freak. That is all.

As Chad started pushing me, I looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, so the sky was painted with dark shades of pink, red, and purple. It was beautiful. Besides that, the Christmas light covered palm trees were swaying lightly, creating a light breeze. It was Christmas. I was with Chad Dylan Cooper, my best friend. It was perfect.

"You're awfully quite, Sonbeam." Chad said as we pulled up to the gazebo. He lifted me up, carried me inside of it, and sat me on the bench.

And now, it was really perfect. The gazebo was overlooking a lake. The lights from the palm trees were reflecting in the water, and the gazebo smelled like cinnamon and pine. I breathed in deeply, cherishing every second.

"I'm just blessed, Chad." I grinned warmly at him.

"I get that, Sonny." Chad smiled back, just as cheekily. Just then, I bit my lip. There was something I wanted to know.

"When?"

Chad looked confused. "When what?"

"When did you start…you know," I looked down at my hands as heat flooded into my cheeks. "when did you start having feelings for me?"

"Oh Sonny," Chad's eyes danced, "didn't we go over this yesterday? You're my best friend. I've always thought that you were the prettiest girl in the world. Whenever I went out on dates, I compared all of the other girls to you. None of them held a candle to your sarcasm. None of them had your laugh. None of them were the right height, had the right hair color, or fit in my arms the way that you do. I couldn't talk to any of them the way that I can talk to you. And, I don't know, one day, I just woke up…and knew that I loved you."

"But then all of our family and relatives were always saying things about us. And I always knew. But I saw how it affected you. So when you came up with that plan, I went along with it. And I kind of hoped that you'd fall for me too."

"I did." I interrupted.

"I know, Sonny, and I'm so glad. It was hard though. And I guess I just dated all of those girls to make you jealous." Now his cheeks were flushing, causing me to chuckle lightly.

"I did get jealous Chad. Seriously. Disgust**i**ngly jealous."

"You never showed it, though." Chad frowned.

"I'm a good actress." I shrugged, leaning in closer to him. For the millionth time that day, it seemed, Chad's eyes flickered down to my lips, and he placed his soft lips on mine. I sighed contentedly as one of his hands came up to cup my face, the other wrapping around my waist. I placed my arms around his neck, granting him access as his tongue trailed lightly across my bottom lip. Our bodies were flush against each other, and I was enjoying every second of it.

All too quickly though, he pulled away, stood up, and swept me up into his arms again.

"Come on, Sonny, we're gonna go open more presents and eat dinner!"

What. The. Heck?

I glared at him, unhappily. My lips were lonely, and now that I had him, I couldn't _have _him.

"Damn you, Chad." I mumbled as he began pushing me back to the house at a fast pace. I heard him laugh lightly behind me. He paused his pushing long enough to stop, brush the hair off the back of my neck, and place a kiss right behind my ear. I bit my lip happily.

It was the best Christmas ever, and Mara didn't cross my mind for the rest of the night.

* * *

**Lyrics: **Rose, L; Swift, T - _You Belong With Me _by Taylor Swift

**A/N:** I seriously, seriously do not know what to say, or do, except offer all of you my extreme/utmost gratitude for each and every one of your reviews! Seriously, THANK YOU. I'm still stunned…Thank you for all 620 (what?) of you who read the last chapter, and for all 52 of you who reviewed. I'm still stunned, and honored, so thank you. I don't deserve any of you – you are all the kindest, sweetest group of SWACers ever, and I truly appreciate it. In the last chapter, I was kind of down in my A/N – but you totally, totally…just WOWED me and I'm all giddy and mushy now. Anywho, I'd also like to give a shout out to my anonymous reviewer "Reemagirl" who I wasn't able to reply to, but her review was 1,138 words long and the sweetest, most encouraging thing ever.

I'd comment on the chapter and all, but I think I'll let you guys talk about it instead. (:

-Aly


	20. Firework

**Risky Business**

_"Absolutely no one knows me better…_

_There you go making my heart beat again,_

_There you go making me feel like a kid…_

_I'm stuck on you"_

-_**19**_-

* * *

_December 31, 2014 –January 1, 2015_

I would just like to take time out of my day to talk about the subject of Katy Perry. She intrigues me, just sayin'.

I mean…who would think that a preacher's daughter would come out with the song, "I Kissed a Girl"? Ha! Get it? Come out? Kissed a girl? Brilliant, I say. Anyway, why would said preacher kid go on to marry the most disgusting human being on the face of the planet whose name isn't even worth mentioning? Of course, three months later he would really come out, giving the media a field day, and Perry would go on to elope with Bieber and stay married to him for three months until she decided to go back to her old church ways after getting another divorce.

That's a mouthful.

But how does it have to relate to Chad (my boyfriend) and me (girlfriend of Chad Dylan Cooper)? It doesn't. Not really.

But when your boyfriend is prancing around your living room in his tux for the New Years Eve party, singing "California_ men_ are irresistible," at the top of his lungs, it kind of makes you think about the regular singer.

Truth be told, as much as I've despised Perry in the past, I was beginning to appreciate her and her scratchy-obnoxious voice.

Let me take you back to five minutes ago. Five minutes ago, everything was normal. Kind of. I was a bundle of nerves as I curled the last of my hair, put on the diamond earrings that Chad had given me for Christmas, smoothed down my curve-hugging red dress, and hobbled over to answer the door for Chad (I was finally out of the wheelchair, praise God). Chad proceeded to throw the daisies that he had bought me onto my counter so he could swoop me up in his arms and give me a breathtaking kiss. Then, I announced to him that I had to go find my heels. I left him in the family room, so I could head to my bedroom. When I came back, my boyfriend was singing Katy at the top of his lungs, and swinging his hips around like he was trying to imitate Elvis.

Here's the thing…if he was trying to be like Elvis, I wouldn't have minded at all. But here he was, singing a girl's song, and changing all of the lyrics to fit a man.

Then came the part of Snoop Dog. Dear lord.

"I'm a freak, I drive a Lamborghini, I…like Sonny when she's high…'cause she's my Sonbeam, all that ass, hangin' out…" Chad bit his lip, his face turning the same shade of red as my dress, and he stopped moving. Ah. I guess he figured out that he needed to stop.

Good for him.

I crossed my arms, tapped my now painfully heeled-foot, and looked at him waiting for an explanation.

He shrugged.

"Do you really like my ass hanging out, Chad?" If possible, his cheeks took on a deeper shade of red as he first began to nod, then shook his head so quickly that he nearly tripped out of dizziness. I bit back a laugh.

"Then why in the world would you choose to sing the most annoying song ever written?" It is. Seriously. I hate it. California gurls suck. A normal California _girl _on the other hand is just fine with me. I.e. Tawni. Well…she's a bad example, but still.

"It was playing in Radio Shack, and got stuck in my head." He looked guilty, and I knew that I had to let it slide.

Katy's songs are annoying like that.

Ooo000ooO

It was awkward.

I'm an actress. I'm good at faking. When I was best friends with Chad (and I still am), it was not a problem. I could go about life naturally. When I was supposedly fake dating Chad, I was acting, and I was great at it. Then, when I fell for Chad, things got a little harder, my heart was a little more broken, but I still had my acting experience to help me through.

But then Chad told me that he loved me, and I of course loved him, and here we were, walking around Joe and Natti's New Year's Eve party together, trying to be natural. Without lies.

It was extremely weird.

Looking at Chad's and my intertwined hands, I accidentally tripped over nothing, and Chad let go of my hand to wrap his arms around me, and then proceeded to laugh and place a kiss on my forehead.

I frowned, knowing that I should've been delighted with it – but it just felt awkward.

Chad wrapped his arm around my shoulders and began leading me towards the drink table.

Not before Shae Jonas caught sight of me though. I gulped as her eyes locked on mine. She promptly turned to her husband who was already busy talking with Garbo (side note: the yummiest man alive…even over Chad), smiled at him, and motioned towards me. The happily married man waved in my direction, kissed his wife, and she started in my direction.

I turned a way to focus on Chad, and getting a drink. Chad was going for the chocolate milk set out for the kids (side note: Chad still things he's one), and I scanned the table for something a little more disgusting. I need alcohol. Badly.

"Hi Sonny," Shae's green eyes danced from me, to the man-kid blowing bubbles in his chocolate milk. "Chad."

Chad lifted one of his hands in the air, spit the straw out long enough to kiss me, and then headed off in the opposite direction to talk to Kevin. I looked after him, narrowing my eyes, shooting invisible darts into his back.

Unfortunately, he didn't collapse into a pile of agony.

Or maybe that's fortunately. He does kiss me like he means it, after all.

"Sonny." Shae's smooth voice brought me back to her. She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, and tapped her black-booted foot impatiently. For the second time, I gulped.

"Shae."

"You're really with him now, aren't you?" I blinked, and felt heat sweep across my cheeks. How the heck did she know?

"Uh-mmm."

"Please don't break his heart." She motioned towards her husband. "If you do, you'll be missing out on something really…worthwhile."

To gain the ability to threaten others with my all-knowingness? No thanks, Shae. I don't really want to be like you.

I bit my tongue.

"Why would I hurt Chad?" Keeping my gaze on Shae, I let my hand flop around on the drink table until it found a can of soda. Instead, it landed on a small cup of punch, soaking my hand completely. Lovely. Shae didn't flinch.

"You wouldn't do it on purpose, Sonny." She sighed. "I can tell that you love him. I know that he's your best friend. But just…be careful. You're in the beginning of your relationship now, and it's mandatory that you, in your situation, don't keep secrets from one another. Because secrets are what kill."

With that, Shae placed a napkin over my dripping hand, and walked away.

Why would she tell me that?

How was it any of her business?

And why in the world had I not thought of a reason to drop the movie deal with Mara?

After standing there for a few seconds longer, I clenched my fists, and went to find Chad. I found him sitting on a chair on Natti and Joe's Christmas-light-covered back porch, bouncing a little toddler that I didn't recognize on his knee. The baby was dressed in pink, covered with red curls, had big blue eyes, dimples, and let out a melodious laugh when Chad tickled her sides.

Seeing him there, in that second, my heart swelled. And in that second, I knew that I'd make every possible sacrifice for him…even if that meant ruining my career.

So that, one day, that would be him with our baby.

* * *

**Lyrics:** Nettles; J – _Stuck Like Glue_ by Sugarland

**A/N**: Short and sweet. And ahhhh, to be the all-knowing wife of Nick J…I'd like that job. But seriously, I would love to know what you think!

On a side note (which none of you have to pay attention to), I was in line at Starbucks today behind 3 British girls. Cutest. Accents. Ever. I'm totally jealous. I'm from Florida…so I have a really, really southern accent (which is no accent at all). Anywho, I also highly recommend the caramel brulee latte, because it is completely delicious.

As you can see, I'm full of delightfully interesting things today.

But, most importantly, have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! And if you don't celebrate it…rejoice in the fact that you have a really cute accent.

-Aly


	21. Gone

**Risky Business**

"_You've been waiting all your life for a break like this,_

_It's your chance of a lifetime, I just know it is,_

_You gotta go and find those dreams,_

_It was the last thing that you said…"_

-_**20**_-

* * *

_January 1, 2015_

They say that if you start the New Year in the arms of the one you love, you'll have a great year…and a great relationship throughout that year.

I've always questioned that myth.

But then again, I haven't watched _When Harry Met Sally_ in a really long time, and they're best friends, who get together, and it has a New Years scene, so, on that note, I should watch it again.

With that thought aside, the last piece of confetti fell to the ground and Chad spun me around in his arms. Being at a public gathering might've been awkward with him (now that we weren't faking things), but he seriously gave me the best New Year's kiss ever.

Not that I minded.

And I enjoy that he's a man who's not ashamed of PDA. You know, unlike Nick Jonas, who's usually hyped up about Shae, but tonight, he proceeded to lead her upstairs to share their midnight kiss, away from everyone else.

Wait a second.

Never mind.

Go Nick… Just sayin'.

I chuckled silently to myself, and Chad kissed the tip of my nose, and I grinned because he had some sort of glittery-thing in his hair.

"Love you, Chad," I whispered so only he could hear me.

"Let's make this year the best one yet, Sonbeam." Chad grinned, this time kissing my lips. We left the party an hour later, holding hands, me hoping that Chad and I would have an unbeatable, unstoppable relationship.

_January 10, 2015_

So far, Chad had been right. The first week and some odd days with Chad had been total and complete bliss. I kept ignoring Mara's constant phone calls (I apparently had 30 something messages from her), and Chad and I kept going out on dates.

It was weird at first, but I was finally getting used to him.

We'd go out to Outback or Longhorn, Chad would still talk about kangaroos, Steve Irwin, and deer's asses, but we'd be holding hands, and he'd tell me that he'd love me. And then we'd usually end the night with a ridiculously amazing kiss, and a cuddle session whilst drooling over spoonfuls of Nutella. There was that one time when we got into it over whipped cream vs. Cool Whip, but that's the only "fight" that we've had.

Cool Whip for pumpkin pie, the other for everything else. Just sayin'.

"The usual?" Chad pulled away from me, kissed my forehead, while I started fishing my keys out to my apartment. We'd just come back from our latest date at the Cheesecake Factory (white chocolate cheesecake will be the death of me, I swear….Seriously, I want to be buried in it.).

"Um," As I turned to unlock the door, Chad brushed the hair off the back of my neck, and started kissing it lightly, causing my eyes to roll, "s-sure."

"Good." Chad took his lips away from my neck, and kissed the skin just behind my earlobe. "We wouldn't want to get tired of the usual, now would we?" He gave me a roguish wink, and I clenched my fists. What the heck was he getting at?

"Sometime's the unusual is good too." He was obviously flirting with me. I got that from his wink. So I decided that I needed to flirt with him. Of course, when I say things, I sound like I'm a kindergarten kid instead of the girlfriend/best friend of Chad Dylan Cooper.

"You want to do the unusual, Sonbeam?" After we had both gotten inside, and the door was locked, Chad's hands were on my waist, pulling me towards him. My cheeks flooded with heat.

"You want to go skydiving, Chad?" That was unusual. I at least hoped that that was what he'd meant…instead of something else.

Not that that 'something else' didn't tempt me. But I just want to wait until I'm married. And I think that my horny best friend should be man enough to wait.

That is, if he wants to marry me.

I gulped.

"Yes, Sonny," Chad quirked an eyebrow, "I've always wanted to go skydiving." He placed a chaste kiss on my lips, twirled me around, and then pulled me back into a longer, more passionate kiss. "And I've always wanted you."

Oh, boy.

_January 15, 2015_

I feel that it's my job to give people advice. Truth be told, if I had a dream job, it would be giving people advice (men, mainly). I wouldn't want to be therapist or a psychologist, or any of those people who need to be treated themselves, even though they treat other people, (because, let's face it, every therapist needs a therapist); but I'd just want to be an…advice giver.

I could teach guys how to get their lady. I could give them all the right things to say.

I could always point to my boyfriend, Chad, and use him as my example of what a perfect boyfriend/man should be.

And I could give people like Mara advice. I could tell her not to say "hell" so much, and tell me that, no matter what I wanted, or no matter how much I would pay, I already had a binding contract with a stupid movie.

My advice to Mara, on this note, would be to "go the_ heck_ away, and not to boss me around."

My advice to myself would be to always be open and honest, and not keep things from Chad, the model boyfriend/best friend.

Today, I called Mara. Today, I argued with Mara. Today, I was told by Mara that I would be going to a place that rhymes with "spell." And today, I was told (by Mara), that I would be sued by Universal Studios if I did not do my duties and film the stupid movie with Zac Efron, or whoever the heck I'm filming it with.

My problem?

I've never really gotten around to telling Chad. The thing is...it scares me.

You see, I've known about it for so long, and I've never once mentioned it to Chad, and I'm utterly terrified that he'll get mad at me, we'll have our first major fight as a couple, and lose everything.

And when I say_ everything_, I mean he'll fall out of love with me, and I'll lose the best friend that I've ever had.

Do you see why I'm scared now?

Good.

So I should probably do something about it, right?

Yes.

Do I?

No.

Instead, I shut my cell phone off, place it on my dresser, smooth down my red coat and shove my UGGs on (I think they stand for Ugly Gross _G_omfortable…y'know, _comfortable_), and walk out of my bedroom, and into my living room where Chad is waiting.

He's dressed in deliciously tight jeans, a black sweater that Aubree "bought him" (aka, Jamie bought it and blamed it on her daughter), and the most welcoming smile that any man is capable of giving.

After staring at him for a few seconds, Chad smirks, walks towards me, places a kiss on my lips, twirls me around, and we head out the door, aiming for Applebees. He starts talking about Peyton and Eli Manning, and my heart melts and breaks.

The fear of breaking the heart of someone you love sucks, doesn't it?

_January 25, 2015_

Have I ever mentioned how Chad goes through stages? No? Well, Chad goes through stages.

He went through his Blackberry stage, then through his iPhone stage, and now he's back on his Blackberry stage.

He can never seem to decide between Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger, and he like's Tim McGraw's cologne because it makes him feel "rugged".

Chad uses bubblegum flavored floss (the pink, kid kind). He used to like the green minty kind until he had a bad experience with green icing on a cake.

Chad used to wear any color boxers that he wants to. According to him though, he now only wears white ones, seeing as how I'm still "pure". This earned a slap from me, then I pulled my shirt off one shoulder so he could see my red bra strap (his eyes were as big as saucers), and then I showed him all of my Victoria's Secret receipts. Therefore, whenever Chad sees me lately, he always has a cocky grin on his face, and decides that I'm going to die if he doesn't kiss my shoulders…because he just has to see what color my lingerie is next.

Chad is now obsessed with Peyton Manning, and white chocolate mint mochas, Starbucks style.

And also, Chad is in this stage where, before we kiss goodnight and he leaves for his house, we cuddle on the couch and he sings me the chorus of a Rascal Flatts song.

And honestly…it makes me melt. Every time.

Kind of like tonight. It was one of the first horribly, utterly, over-the-top cold days that California has had in a while, and Chad and I were lounging on my couch. Chad was sitting up, and I was lying in between his legs, my head against his chest, while he ran his fingers through my hair.

"Hey, Sonny," Chad shifted so he could plant a soft kiss on my cheek, and I closed my eyes, savoring the moment, "I love you."

Moments like these are what I've been living for lately.

I smiled up at him, and he kissed the tip of my nose.

"I have another Flatts' song stuck in my head." I smiled to myself, waiting.

A few seconds later, Chad's soothing, melodic voice filled my ears. "…I got this job, and I think I'm going to take it. 'Cause I've been waiting all my life for a break like this, it's my chance of a lifetime…You gotta go and find those dreams…"

Chad ran away with the lyrics, distorting them and singing them out of order in his own special way; but I drowned out his singing, my heart racing madly. I knew that song. It was about someone going out of town for a job, coming back to their ex, and pleading with them was that their love was what they wanted all along.

I swallowed hard, realizing that I still had yet to tell Chad about Mara and going to Paris.

_February 3, 2015_

It was supposed to be just a regular day. One filled with me wearing an uncomfortable tight dress, Chad's sarcastic comments, and chocolate.

A day in which I fully intended to call Mara (after Chad left), and tell her that I was going to drop the movie. Drop my career. Everything.

A regular day in which, after I escorted Chad into my apartment, and dashed into my bedroom to get my earrings, get my shoes, pee, brush my hair (again), and go back out and meet Chad.

Here's the thing…When you're in the process of peeing, and your home phone rings, it's kind of difficult stopping the process to run into the family room and answer the phone. So when the persistent noise stopped after three rings, I just assumed that it went to voicemail.

After my hair was set, my feet were in miserable heels, and my earrings were in, I walked out to find Chad, smiling.

Here's the thing…Chad wasn't smiling. He was clenching his fists, his jaw was set, and his eyes, flickering from the phone, to me, looked like they were on fire.

I swallowed hard, feeling every ounce of happiness drain out of me.

"So, Sonny," Chad started after what seemed like hours, taking a step towards me, "I found out something just recently." Chad took another step towards me. "Like, Mara, your…agent, I assume, likes to say hell a lot. I also found out," Chad's eyes flashed with anger, "that my girlfriend…my best friend, the one who tells me everything, is going to Paris pretty soon to film a movie with Zac Efron."

"I-" I swallowed hard, hoping to ease the sudden hoarseness of my throat down. Chad took another step before me, until I was backed up against the door to my bedroom.

I wanted him to pull me into his arms and kiss me. I wanted him to laugh, and tell me what a forgetful klutz I was. Instead, the Chad in front of me was someone who I didn't recognize. He looked so angry, yet, he also looked so hurt. Betrayed.

I had betrayed Chad by not telling him.

"Don't say that you're sorry, Sonny." Chad bit his lip, shaking his head. "Please don't. You've known about this for months, yet you didn't say a damned thing to me. And you're leaving. For a stupid movie. You would think-"

"I was going to drop it." I whispered, interrupting him, tears stinging my eyes.

Chad's glossed over blue eyes met my own. "Then why didn't you?"

"I-"

"You know what, Sonny," Chad took a step back, shaking his head, his clenched hands brushing at his eyes, "go ahead to Paris. Film your precious movie. Have a blast. Elope with Efron for all I care. But when you come back," he turned towards the door and grabbed the handle, "don't bother contacting me."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

**Lyrics:** Steele, J; Robinson, S – Then I Did by Rascal Flatts

**A/N**: (((raise of hands))) Who's gained five pounds thanks to Thanksgiving, huh? Chocolate pecan pie is waaaay too good. So, if you celebrated it, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, and, if not, your accent is probably awesome.

I was going to wait to update until next weekend (this is why I'm behind with review replies), but since the week after this means final exams for me (ick), I decided I need next weekend to study, so you'll be getting an update on Sunday the 12th. I'm sorry that it won't be sooner!

Onto the chapter…If you haven't noticed it already, I really, really, really suck at writing fight/breakup scenes. But, you all probably read the prologue, and expected one sooner or later. Here's the thing…I love happy endings, so you don't have to worry. This is supposed to be a cute Channy story, okay? I love you guys. I love happy endings. I've had waaay to much Starbucks and pecan pie, so this is why I'm rambling. I'll shut up now.

Thank you for reading, and feel free to drop me a review on how much you hate me for writing this/want Starbucks or pecan pie.

-Aly


	22. Here

**Risky Business**

_"Oh, why? That's what I keep asking,_

_Is there anything I could've said or done?"_

**-21-**

_February 13, 2015_

At around 10pm on February 3rd, I fled. I first called Mara to tell her that I quit…everything. Then I hopped on a plane and headed home. My mom and dad were out of town on cruise. Amy was touring in Europe. Jill, on the other hand, greeted me with open arms and nearly killed me when she hugged me with her pregnant belly.

She looked like she was the Octomom on steroids, and she was just carrying one child. (Even though I might be a blubbering mess over Chad, I can still make sarcastic comments, can I not?)

Over Pringles, Oreos, Nachos, Nutella, and Chunky Monkey, I told Jill everything. She took it rather well. At first, she swatted me for lying to her, complimented Chad's ass, asked what I had done with all of the Victoria's Secret stuff (she would), told me that I was a depressing human being, burst into tears, and then started laughing hysterically. Pregnant horny women. Gotta love 'em.

And after she let me mope for approximately one day (enter February 5th – 12:01 am), she started telling me to "fight for Chad".

That confused me.

He's the man.

He's the one who's supposed to fight for me.

He's the one who should have to hop on a plane, fly to Wisconsin, and beg me to come back.

Then again, as Jill so explained, Chad thinks I'm in Paris, and it's entirely my fault, and I'm the one who needs to beg for his forgiveness. She also mentioned something about how much easier it would be for him to forgive if I was just wearing Victoria's Secret lingerie, but I let that slide.

What I hated most though, was that she was right.

And I wanted to do something. I wanted to fight for him, and, at least, have him as my best friend…but I was scared.

I've been scared of rejection, of what he'll say, of confessing that I did keep things from him out of foolish fear, and that I've been wrong. But, no matter what, I'll always remain completely, hopelessly in love with him.

Here's the thing…I've got the whole entire speech written out in my head, rehearsed, and ready to go. I've also been brushing up on episodes of Friends (the Ross/Rachael, Monica/Chandler ones), The Office, and movies like "My Best Friend's Wedding," "Made of Honor" and "When Harry Met Sally."

Here's the thing…Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal got to me at first with the hating each other (kind of like Chad and me), and they of course had all of the, um, sex discussion (not me, maybe a little of Chad), but then they had this tragic thing happen, and fought for each other.

I mentioned that to Jill, and she gave me a thirty minute speech on the movie. Never happening again.

I just… I wish that I'd have the strength to fight. To make some truly amazing speech and win Chad back. But this isn't a movie. This isn't fiction, this is real life.

And in real life, from what I've observed, there is pain. Lots and lots of pain.

But because I received a phone call from Jason this morning, I made a dash for the airport, bought a ticket for California, and have sat in the waiting section ever since, playing absentmindedly with my iPod in between Jill's pee-runs.

"You know, they say that if you listen to things…womanly pleasing…it'll motivate you to win your loved one back." Jill plopped down on the seat across from me again, rubbing her pregnant belly.

I looked up at her, waiting.

She continued. "Robin Thicke, Dierks Bentley, Josh Turner…They all have pleasing voices and really, really sex- I mean, romantic songs." Jill smiled innocently.

I cringed for the baby inside of her, wondering how it would feel to have a mother who talked so openly about "sex" and "lingerie". I wondered if the rest of Jill and Laketon's bunch knew what the words truly meant. Then again, they probably thought that they were in the same category as Legos and Barbies.

"Um, I, um, yeah." Great response, Sonny. I sighed, continuing to thumb my way through my "recently played" list. I had a lot of sad country songs on there.

Depressing, I know.

"It was nice of Jason to call you." I stared at Jill. This was the mother side of her talking now.

"I know."

"Did he say how far Jamie was dilated?" I cringed. What a big word. What a…ick.

"No."

"Did he say if her water had broken yet?" Yet again, I got a disgusting image in my head.

"No."

"Did he say how far apart her contractions have been coming?" Seriously, Jill?

"He said that she was at the hospital, fixing to have the baby, and that she wanted me to be there." And I would be. I'd be delighted to see the look on little Aubree's face when she told me about her little baby brother or sister. I'd be delighted to see Jamie and Jason cooing over their sweet newborn. I'd be happy to see the new baby.

And, I'd be…well, I'd be pretty damn scared to see Chad, I'll reckon.

Excuse the southernisms in the last statement. It just…helps to ease the pain and my scared-shitlessness.

Yee-haw!

"That's so nice. Do you think you'll be able to make it for the birth of my little J-squared too?" Jamie rubbed her belly innocently, while I had a flash of Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles (stars of Supernatural), coming out (of the closet). Thankfully, they both have wives (last time I checked). Which is sad, too. Jensen Ackles is to die for.

Anyway.

I gulped.

"Of course."

I wanted children desperately. I wanted to have Chad's babies. But, looking on the bright side, if Chad doesn't take me back, maybe witnessing all of these births will ease my want of having children.

Or maybe not.

Before I knew it, the boarding call sounded. My cousin pulled me in (yet again, had me praying for air) for another hug, and I walked with shaky steps to board the plane.

In a couple of hours, I'd be in California.

And in a couple of hours, I would be desperately trying to avoid Chad Dylan Cooper.

Ooo000ooO

Little Colton Maddux Smith stared up at me with wide, shockingly blue eyes, and opened and closed his mouth as if he was determinedly drinking something (which he wasn't).

Clearly, he wanted Starbucks.

Clearly, he was going to grow up to be one awesome dude.

I stared down at the sweet baby boy swaddled in my arms, and grinned, praying that my tears would stay back. In the meantime, Colton's little fist (with the tiniest fingers I had ever seen), shot up in the air and waved around for a few seconds.

He was clearly trying to express how glad he was to be held by such an awesome person (me). And I was all too happy to hold him.

He was definitely, definitely an awesome little guy. Because, not only did he appreciate the awesomeness that I am (he doesn't know about me breaking his uncle's heart yet), but he wants Starbucks (the mouth popping), and his name is Colton.

_Colt_on.

It's like the _Colt_s and Peyton (Manning) all in one!

If Jamie and Jason hadn't produced such a sweet little man after my own heart, I would've decked them for stealing the name.

I sighed, the baby closed his eyes, and I shuffled quietly over to the seat.

When I arrived at the hospital, Chad was nowhere to be found, Jamie was exhausted looking and trying to force Colton to breastfeed, and Aubree was telling her dad how badly she needed to pee.

Now, thirty minutes had passed, Colton was in my arms, Jamie's out like a light, and Aubree went off with her father to pee.

Here's the thing.

Peeing does not take thirty minutes.

Here's the other thing.

I'm pretty sure that Jason escaped with Aubree to go and get some decent food. I can't blame him, though. Hospital food sucks.

With the thought of things that "suck" I got a little pang in my chest, and Chad's image filled my mind. I missed him.

I miss him way too much. I know that I deserve his silent treatment. I know that he has every right to hate me. But still, he was my best friend for years. And it's hard to let that go.

I wondered if he missed me too, or if he just hated me so much that his hatred overwhelmed any sympathetic feelings that he had for me.

But, he said that he loved me. You just can't fall out of love with a person that quickly, can you?

Because, no matter how much someone hurts you, if you truly love them, wouldn't it take months, even years, to get over it?

I swallowed, and looked down at a now-yawning Colton. His little eyelids, beneath thick red eyelashes fluttered multiple times, before he decided to look up at me with a really, really wide-eyed expression again. Seconds later, the flutters began again, and his eyes closed, his breathing steadied.

I shook my head, amazed at how this little miracle, only a few hours old, could be so…entertaining. Amazing.

I was truly grateful that he possessed the ability to take my mind off of Chad, if only for a few moments.

Sighing, and running my fingers gently through Colton's downy-soft red hair, I moved over to place him in his crib. In the meantime, Jamie snored loudly, lightening the tension that I was feeling, but I held back my laugh.

"I guess it's a good thing you're napping along with your mom, huh, little guy?" I softly stroked his cheek, and gulped, attempting to swallow the pain down that was bubbling up.

"Sweet dreams, dude." I leaned in and kissed his cheek, before I could stand up though, a shadow of light from the door opening and then closing crept in the room, and I spun around, prepared to silence Aubree and Jason from any exclamations, etc.

However, instead of Aubree and Jason, the man who I needed so desperately to see, but so terribly wanted to avoid was staring at me.

As my eyes locked with his, I realized that Colton, Jamie, and Chad had the exact same eyes. Yet while Colton's were filled with sweet innocence and Jamie's with joy, Chad's were a mix of emotions. They contained sorrow, pain, and something else that I couldn't quite replace but I wanted very much to mean love.

**Lyrics: **Mathes, R; Shamblin, A – _Why_ by Rascal Flatts

**A/N**: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I could give you all of my excuses, but I'll just leave you with: friends, company, relatives, Christmas, Kindle. Seriously though, I got a Kindle for Christmas, and I'm obsessed with it. And I do love writing, but I just haven't had the time. Seriously, if I could take a year off, move to London, and eat, tour, and write – I'd be content. But anyway, I hope all of you had an extremely wonderful, blessed Christmas. And I promise that I won't take a month to update. I already have the next chapter written, and I'm working on the epilogue (which is very, very exciting!).

The one sip of champagne I had for New Years is officially getting to me as I write this note.

Last but not least, I would like to thank each and every one of you who reviewed, and have read this story! You really have no idea how much I appreciate it! I would've replied to all of the reviews, but I thought that you'd prefer an update instead. But seriously, thank you!

-Aly


	23. Like This

**Risky Business**

_"It's like another life,_

_Like I hadn't felt a thing until you."_

**-22-**

_February 13, 2015_

You know those moments that you dream about, but you never really think will happen?

You know, those moments when the world halts. It stops spinning. Your heart misses one beat, then another, and another until you think it's stopped altogether.

I'd say that that's what happened to me when I found out Bath & Body Works no longer carried Winter Candy Apple after Christmas, but that's a little more dramatic.

In the here and now, facing Chad, whose face was unreadable, my world really did stop spinning. And if it hadn't already crashed down when Chad found out about my deal, I'd say that it would've now.

I opened my mouth, wheezed slightly (which was…just brilliant…for my serious predicament), and closed my mouth.

Chad could talk.

Chad, instead, just gaped at me.

As Colton, snug in his crib, let out a little yawn, Chad's and my eyes flickered down to the newborn, and then back to each other.

Chad shifted from foot to foot, and I did the same, my heart beating eight-billion miles per hour.

Jamie let out a really, really loud, and really long snore.

Chad's eyebrows knit together, and a frown formed on his list.

I lost my patience.

"Your nephew is beautiful." My words came out softly, carefully, and the corners of Chad's mouth tilted up, making my heart burst back to life.

"He's kind of cool." Chad shifted his feet again, and looked at my pointedly.

How had we gone from best friends, to being in love, to…shifting feet?

Chad's eyes wandered around the room.

Let's make that…best friends, being in love, shifting feet, and shifty eyes.

Lovely.

"Chad-" I started.

"You didn't go off with Efron?" His smirk caught me off guard. I let my eyes wander off of his face, to his broad shoulders, to the rather disturbingly sexy way he was leaning against the wall. I shook my head in response, and Chad took a step forward.

"You went home?" I couldn't tell if it was a question, or a statement, but my eyes were locked with his blue ones, and I nodded.

"Did Jill pop yet?" A slight laugh escaped my lips at that one, and a fluttery-feeling drifted through my stomach.

"No." I said quietly, not daring to break eye contact, or say something that would end Chad's desire to talk to me.

"Sonny," Chad's adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, "I really…I mean, would you mind talking to me?"

If possible, my heart pounded even more wildly, as I nodded my head.

"Maybe tomorrow, I could meet you at your apartment? Around 2?" Again, I nodded.

With that, Chad awkwardly patted me on my shoulder, and I tiptoed out of Jamie and Colton's room, not daring a glance back. As I headed out of the maternity ward, I released a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding, and shoved my sweaty hands in the pockets of my jeans. The whole time I was wondering what the heck just happened.

Ooo000ooO

_February 14, 2015_

It took me until about 1:59 pm today to realize that it was Valentine's Day.

Or, in my case, Singles' Awareness Day. Unfortunately. And I hope that that will change. In my dreams.

And how did I come to realize this right before Chad arrived?

Because I was on the phone with Jill.

I actually began by calling her, telling her all about Colton, and then my run in with Chad at the hospital. Jill was extremely serious the first part of the conversation, asking about the weight of the baby, if it had any hair, why Jamie failed to name the kid Carrot Top II, and Chad's facial expressions. Then, when I explained how he was supposedly coming over today, she started asking me if I had been to Victoria's Secret lately (no), if I had any really pretty hot pink stiletto heels (over my dead body…then again, I'd be dead if I wore them), if I had really sparkly lip gloss (I'm not five), and what my hair looked like. Then, she ended our conversation by telling me Happy Valentine's Day.

That was thirty seconds ago, and in the span of thirty seconds, I had a panic attack, wondering why Chad would want to come over on Valentine's Day.

Yes, we were best friends who sometimes spent Singles' Awareness Day together, and I'd still love to be best friends, but Chad pretty much flipped the switch on that one.

And yes, he dumped me after I lied to him and all, but prior to that we were a "couple" (a REAL one), and "in love".

Therefore, isn't Valentine's Day with your ex, like, illegal?

Or, maybe Chad didn't realize that it was Valentine's Day either.

With that thought, peace fluttered through me. And then there was a knock on my door, causing ever ounce of panic to flood back in.

I gulped for air, reached for the doorknob, and held my breath.

Chad did not have a bouquet of roses in his arms, or any kind of chocolate that I could see, praise God.

However, Chad was wearing tight jeans and a tight black shirt, which made it hard to let the breath that I was holding go.

Come up for air, Sonny. Just a little bit of air…

"Hey." Chad reached for me, and pulled me into an awkward hug. Tears stung my eyes and shivers raced through me at his touch. Heavens, I missed him.

"Hi." I bit back a sigh when he stepped back.

"So, what are you doing today?" Chad walked passed me, and plopped himself down on the couch, asking me the question like we had never fought. Like he never told me that he never wanted to see me again. Like he never left, or got rightfully angry at me when he found out that I had been keeping something from him.

What in the hell was his deal?

"Huh?" I squeaked.

Chad gave me a half smile, and patted the seat beside him. I blinked, and sat down in the chair besides the couch.

I couldn't sit by him yet. I was too confused, and didn't trust myself.

"I miss you, Sonny." Chad's voice cracked, and I closed my eyes.

He wasn't the only one.

I mean…I missed him, not myself.

You know what I mean.

Hell.

"I-I'm so sorry, Chad."

"I should've listened." Chad swallowed, and held his hand up to stop me from saying anything. "I didn't give you a chance to explain. You didn't even go, and weren't going. And you're my best friend. I just got so…angry, so quickly. And I am so sorry, Sonny."

Chad's eyes were watering, and I felt a tear slowly crawl down my cheek.

He was apologizing. When it was my entire fault, when I had messed up everything, Chad was apologizing.

And I was utterly relieved and grateful.

"Chad," I moved over to the couch, needed to be close to him, "please don't apologize. You had every right to be mad."

Chad shook his head. "Maybe," Chad smirked, "but you're my best friend. I had a right to be mad, but I didn't have a right to not give you a chance."

Chad scooted closer, his thumb brushing away the tear, and trailing down to my jaw.

"I need you, Sonny. And until I lost you, I didn't realize how much I need you." My heart swelled, and, if possible, I scooted even closer to him.

"Next time this happens, Chad, just listen." Chad smiled at me, reached for my hand, and placed a soft kiss on it.

"Sounds like a plan." And so the process of healing began.

**Lyrics:** _Nothing Like This _by Rascal Flatts

**A/N:** So, how are you? In my defense, it wasn't a month – just two weeks! Oh, and I mentioned Candy Apple lotion by Bath and Body Works in this chapter…That lotion, Starbuck's Caramel Brulees, and your reviews…all better than white chocolate. And white chocolate is the bomb (excluding the Rascal Flatts, because they're the best). …But you guys are up there with them!

Thank you for reading, and I'd love to hear what you think!

-Aly


	24. Epilogue

**Risky Business**

_"But I know one thing,_

_That I love you"_

-**Epilogue**-

* * *

_August 23, 2017_

At the sweet sound of an infant's cry Chad bounded up the stairs two at a time, and jogged down the hallway.

And, with every step that he took, his smile grew a little bit bigger. That's because, with every step that he took, he drew a little closer to the love of his life, and the thing that completed their love.

Madeline Olivia Cooper.

With ten fingers, and, praise God, (ten!) toes, a head of red hair, and her mother's brown eyes – she definitely was the miracle that Chad and Sonny needed to complete their lives.

Then again, she didn't technically complete their lives. Chad wanted ten more just like her.

He shared this information with Sonny more than a few times after Madeline's birth (okay, every day since she'd been born – and that had been three weeks ago).

And every single time, Sonny would slap him (which, oddly, turned him on), and gave the reply of "you give birth to seven of them, and maybe you have a deal."

Chad tried to explain to her that it was impossible. And that she'd seen the proof. This would cause his wife's face to turn bright red, and she'd tell him that his statement was inappropriate with a child in the room.

To that, Chad would look down at their daughter, and Chad would swear, every time, that Madeline was giving him a small smile. One time, he even saw her wink.

Clearly, she was wise beyond her years (or, weeks), and wanted to be the oldest of a multitude of siblings.

And he told Sonny that she'd said that too.

Sonny just rolled her eyes.

But, it was all in good fun. Like how, after Sonny's and Chad's healing process began on Valentine's Day, and ended five hours later was all in good fun.

Because, five hours later, Chad proposed.

Three months later, they were married, and that was all in good fun.

And then, ten months before Chad's birthday, he came up with a plan, which was, well, a heck of a lot of fun.

You see, on his twenty first birthday, Chad wasn't really drunk. He was already in love with his best friend. So that was why he kissed her.

And Chad explained this to his wife ten months before his birthday.

Chad's wife therefore melted, and was (literally) weak at his touch.

So, taking advantage of her (like he had on his twenty first birthday…well, not quite), Chad seduced his wife for the eight hundredth and third time (because, even though they hadn't been married that long, Chad knew how to use his time wisely).

And heck, he'd gotten the perfect birthday present out of it ever.

Biting back his grin, Chad swung the door open to a delightfully (not) pink room, and let his gaze focus on the most beautiful vision that he had ever laid eyes on.

The vision glared at him in return.

Chad walked over to 'said vision', and attempted to move the vision's nursing blanket away.

His hand was swatted at.

"Chad!"

"What? She's so cute when she nurses, Sonny."

"Chad, I love you, and you're a terrific father. You couldn't be more devoted to our daughter if you tried." Chad beamed. "But you are not looking at her when she's nursing."

"Oh really," Chad smirked, "then what am I looking at?"

At this, Sonny turned beet read, and started stuttering.

(Chad took great pride in the fact that he could make his wife stutter.)

"It's my birthday."

"I know, babe, you woke me up at 12am to tell me."

"I need a present."

Sonny gave him a pestered glare, and looked down at their daughter.

"You know what kind of present I need, Sonny." At this, his daughter must have taken a breath from her nursing to coo lightly from under the blanket, making Chad grin.

"Our daughter agrees that you need to give me this certain present."

And even though Sonny was beet red, she managed to get out: "If you're clever enough, you might get want you want."

And then, Chad went back to his favorite job of trying to seduce his wife-slash-best friend-slash-mother of his child. Risky business, indeed.

* * *

**Lyrics: **Franti, M; _Say Hey (I Love You)_ by Michael Franti Spearhead

**A/N:** Well…what can I say? Besides…THANK YOU!

I wrote _Cure For the Common Man_, and _Stupid Cute_ – but for some reason, neither of those got to me as much as this story did. It was a challenge to write, but you guys made it worth it, and you have no idea how much I appreciate it. It boggles my mind everyday why anyone would want to read anything that I've written, and here, this story has nearly 40,000 reads. I'm honestly stunned and eternally grateful! I enjoyed writing about perverted Jill, and Chad and Sonny with their weird relationship. Mostly though, I enjoyed reading what you guys had to say, and talking about Starbucks and chocolate! So, honestly, THANK YOU!

As for the epilogue, I hope that you liked it! I've submerged myself in historical romance novels where there's a baby in the end – so I kind of had to do it for this story – and I hope that it satisfied.

I've had a few questions about a sequel/something from Chad's perspective. I'm not going to spoil this story by writing a full blown sequel, because they always seem to mess up the first. I've been thinking about writing something from Chad's POV though, and I've settled on that. So, stay tuned for: Getting Risky – The Business of Chad Dylan Cooper (or some story titled tackily like that). : )

And, I was wondering if any of you would be interested in reading a Chad/Sonny based in the Regency period? …It would be different, but fun.

But really, enough of my ramblings. Just, THANK YOU!

Starbucks and white chocolate love,

-Aly


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